Appearances Can Be Deceiving
by mcangel1976
Summary: Sakuno thought she and Ryoma were dating until her best friend told her otherwise. After talking to her supposed boyfriend, she found out she was the only one who thought they were romantically involved. Learning the truth, she ran away. Now two teens are out to show her she deserves better. Will one win her, or are they really even interested in her like that?
1. Things Are Not Always as They Appear

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or its characters, but I do love to use them in my stories for your enjoyment.**

 **A/N: I'm back with a new PoT story for you. I'm still working on the rumors, so if you want to see something on that story, let me know, but I have been itching to start a new actual story and since my novel is finally done and with a proofreader, I decided to give in to the urge. I discussed this one with SugarTensai and came up with a couple of different ideas together. Thanks for the help, SugarTensai! Enjoy!**

Chapter 1 – Things Are Not Always as They Appear

For the past month, Sakuno has felt like she was on cloud nine. Through a series of events, and some interference from a couple of her senpai, she was finally dating Ryoma Echizen…sort of. They went out to the movies, practiced tennis together, and even went and at burgers at least once a week, and he always escorted her home, but as he usually acted, his attitude remained aloof and somewhat distant. To top it off, his two main/favorite topics of conversation were still his cat Karupin and tennis. He never held her hand, never tried to kiss her, or anything else, but that was all right because they were dating. It's just that sometimes she wished he would be more boyfriend-like. Then again, there were those people, like her grandmother, who believed being first years in middle school, they didn't need to rush anything. Rushing? At the rate they were going, glaciers moved faster.

Everything being what it is, Ryoma being who he was, Sakuno would take what she could get and be happy he had ever agreed to go out with her in the first place. She had had a crush on him since the first time she saw him at the tennis competition when he beat those high schoolers after being disqualified for not showing up. It had been amazing to see him in action, and when she found out he was going to her school, she wanted to shout and jump for joy. Of course her best friend seemed to have a louder and more pronounced way of welcoming him, however, that was just Tomoka and the outgoing girl had always been like that.

Tomoka…come to think of it, her best friend had been acting odd ever since Sakuno told her that she had her first date with Ryoma. Sakuno knew her friend had a crush on the Prince of Tennis as well, but Tomoka had always encouraged her friend to go for it. Could it be that her best friend had changed her mind now? Did Tomoka not support her relationship? That couldn't be it. If it was, Sakuno was sure Tomoka would have said something to her. Right?

As Sakuno walked towards the school, her mind raced with everything: Tomoko's feelings, Ryoma as a boyfriend, homework she was unsure she finished, and tennis practice. So many things to keep straight, and she wasn't paying attention to where she was going. First of all, she wasn't the most directionally efficient person on the planet. She had issues with that particular trait and often found herself getting lost in her own neighborhood. Ergo, when she looked up, she started to panic because she did not recognize anything around her. Where was she? Where was her school?

"Calm down. You'll find it," she muttered to herself, however, it felt like a losing battle with her emotions.

"Ryuzaki-san," a voice called out from under a black umbrella.

"Buchou?! Wh-What are you doing here? What about practice?"

Tezuka approached his kohai and almost cracked an amused smile, however, he remembered himself before it happened, "We are unable to practice in the rain, therefore, it has been cancelled. What are you doing here? You missed the turn for the school by two blocks." He knew exactly where she lived, as he had been to his coach's house plenty of times, and he also understood she lacked a sense of direction; however, she had been going to the school for several months now and had not gotten lost on her way to school for quite some time.

"EH? Go-gomen! I wasn't thinking… I mean I was thinking… I mean my mind…"

"Follow me. I will escort you to the school." It was the least he could do since this was the precious granddaughter of his tennis coach, and although he may come across as unfeeling and cold, he was still a gentleman who would not leave a lady in distress, unless he had no other choice, and then again, not this girl because his coach would kill him.

"A-A-Arigato, Tezuka-buchou!" She stuttered and obediently fell in step beside him, noticing when she started to lag behind and had to speed-up in order to catch up, he slowed his pace and shortened his steps to match hers.

And when they finally got to school, her world was turned upside down, the carpet was pulled out from under her feet, and all those other clichés people use to say she was crushed.

Arriving at the gates, Sakuno noticed her best friend and confidante waiting on her. This wasn't odd in and of itself, but the rain still fell and she bounced up and down as if she had to tell Sakuno the greatest secret in the world. "Tomoka?"

"Eh? You already moved on with Tezuka-buchou?" Tomoka shouted in surprise once she saw her friend walking with the stoic third year.

Her face turned redder than a tomato, her head whipped back and forth between gaping at her closest friend and looking at the teen beside her. Holding up her arms, she waved her hands furiously, "Wh-wh-what are you…? NO! I-I-I got lost again!"

"So you aren't dating him now?"

"Wh-what?"

Tezuka watched on as long as he could, but the girl's distress appeared as if was starting to overwhelm her…if it hadn't already. Pushing up his glasses, he spoke up and observed Tomoka jumped when he addressed her directly, "As, Ryuzaki-san has already stated, we do not have that sort of relationship."

"I-I'm still dating Ryoma-kun," Sakuno meekly stated.

"No, you're not," Tomoka argued.

"What do you mean?"

"I asked Ryoma-sama to go with me to the movies and he agreed. He said he wasn't dating you."

"Wh-Why would you do that?"

"Because I had an extra ticket and it's a movie you didn't want to see and he did."

This was supposed to be her best friend, the person who supported her and cheered her on; and yet, now she was also the person who helped break her heart. "Da-date?"

"Of course. Since you aren't going out with him anymore, I thought it would be all right."

When was stealing a boyfriend ever all right? When was dating your best friend's ex acceptable? And Sakuno wasn't even sure she and Ryoma were over. They hadn't broken up as far as she knew.

"Ryuzaki-san, I suggest you take this elsewhere. If you delay any further, you might be tardy. I would also recommend that you talk to Echizen yourself for understanding," Tezuka recommended and gave her a small nudge towards the school building.

He was right. This was not the time nor the place, and until she talked to Ryoma herself, she could not possibly know the truth. Maybe he did not say they were not dating. Maybe Tomoka was confused. "H-Hai, buchou." Leaving her bewildered friend standing there, she followed the older boy and entered the school.

It took her a while, but she finally found Ryoma at lunch on the roof. She needed to know exactly what he and Tomoka talked about, what was said, because if she just listened to Tomoka and let her imagination run wild, she would want to crumble into a million tiny pieces. "Ry-Ryoma-kun?" Kneeling down beside him, she shook his shoulder in the hopes he would actually wake up.

Feeling someone nudging him, disturbing his sleep, Ryoma slowly lifted one eye lid and rolled over, "What do you want?"

"To-To…ahem Tomoka said you are going to the movies with her on a d-d-date."

Both eyes popped open and he glanced over his shoulder, "Date? It's not a date. She had a ticket and is giving it to me. Momo-senpai is supposed to meet me at the theatre."

Breathing a sigh of relief, she nodded, "Oh, okay. She said you and I broke up and you were dating her now."

This whole conversation confused the young tennis prodigy, "What are you talking about?"

"She said you and I weren't dating even…"

"We're not," he interrupted her with a scowl.

"B-But we were dating. We went to dinner and played tennis and…"

"I was told to help you with your tennis game. As for the rest, you were all right for a girl and friend, so we hung out with others. Momo-senpai and Kikumaru-senpai were there, and when they weren't, I didn't feel like going home and you wanted to hang out. I don't have time to date. I have to beat someone in tennis and I have other things I need to do. Tennis is more important."

Gasping, Sakuno covered her mouth, tears pouring down her cheeks. This hurt worse than Tomoka's confession this morning. Had she gotten it all wrong? She assumed, but she thought it was mutual. She couldn't stay here. Getting to her feet, she ran through the roof door and down the steps. She didn't care where her feet took her, but she needed to get out of there… NOW!

A misunderstanding. That's all it was? The times she thought they were on dates, he thought he was just hanging out with someone because he was bored. While it's true they never said they were dating, never spoke the words, she really believed he liked her as more than just a girl who cheered for him at tennis matches. She had deceived herself into believing something that wound up being nothing but a figment of her own romantic imagination. Tennis is what mattered to him. She should have known better, and yet, she had wanted to believe he had finally turned his eyes towards her. Tennis was a vile thing to be hated now. She couldn't compete against the sound and feel of a racket hitting a ball. She felt pathetic.

When she could no longer run, when the stitch in her side doubled her over in pain, and when she could no longer breathe, she stopped and looked around. Once again Sakuno did not know where she was, and for the first time, she honestly did not care. Seeing a park across the street, she stumbled through the entrance and sat down on a park bench to rest. Everything felt like a lie to her right now.

"You know, being in that uniform at this time of day, could get you in trouble," someone chuckled behind her.

Spinning around, Sakuno found someone laying under one of the tall oak trees. She could see nothing except the emblem on his shirt. Her eyes grew wide and she whispered in shock, "Rikkai-Dai?"


	2. Maybe, Maybe Not

**A/N: Thank you everyone for reading this story. It may start out a little slow, but it will pick up in a couple of chapters. I just don't want to rush anything. Enjoy!**

Chapter 2 – Maybe, Maybe Not

"Rikkai Dai?" Realizing that the boy in the uniform went to a different school as her, Sakuno started to freak out a little, "EH?" How far had she really gone? Granted she may be bad with directions, but she doubted even her legs could carry her all the way to the other school.

"Congratulations, you pass!" The other student mocked her. "So what's someone from Seigaku doing here? A little far from home, aren't you? Puri!"

Her eyes widened. Did he really just say what she thought he did? Did she really run all the way to Rikkai Dai territory? That wasn't possible, was it?

Rolling his eyes, the teen asked, "Cat got your tongue?"

Sakuno's cheeks turned a bright shade of red and her brain felt like it was going into overdrive. She tried to replay her route from the school, but it was impossible. There was no way she could remember, not when she ran blindly, ignoring everything around her. "A-Ano, where am I?"

"A park. Puri," he answered.

"Ano, I-I-I mean…where?"

Narrowing his eyes on the girl with long twin braids, he finally took pity on her. She looked like she was having a rough day and had been crying. In fact, she looked like she was about to cry again, and one thing he hated to see: girls crying. Not that he would ever tell his teammates that. "You're about four blocks away from your school. I'm Niou Masaharu."

Relief flooded her now that she knew she had not traveled as far as she feared, but why was he here? She thought she remembered him from a couple of the tennis tournaments, however, she wasn't completely certain of that. "A-Arigato, Niou-kun! I-I'm Ryuzaki Sakuno!"

A familiar name, "Are you related to that coach?"

"Coach? Oh, you mean obaa-chan? Hai!"

"Figures. Puri."

"Nani?"

"So what is a coach's granddaughter doing skipping classes? Is Seishun Gakuen on holiday today?"

"N-N-No," she stammered quietly, her gaze dropping to her feet. The last thing she wanted to admit was her folly and the whole sad debacle that currently caused her heart to break.

He studied her for a moment longer before sighing, "I guess if you don't have anything else to do and you want to take your mind off some things, you can hang out with me today. But if that obaa-chan of yours comes after me, it's all your fault. You have to take responsibility."

"Eh?"

"Do you not speak Japanese? The rain stopped and the weather is nice now, and you've already ditched."

"Nani?"

Face palming, Niou growled, "Do you want to stay here and cry your eyes out, or do you want to actually do something?"

"D-Do something?" Anything would be better than sitting around and thinking about Ryoma, Tomoka, and how much trouble she would be in later on. If she was going to be in trouble anyway…she just needed an escape. And besides, she had no clue where she was. Even if she was only a few blocks from her school, that did not mean she could find her way back. Maybe Niou would be polite enough to show her later. "Ano, what are you doing here, Niou-kun?"

"Escaping, puri," he winked.

"Nani?" This boy was so confusing and making her head swim. How could she possibly think when he talked in circles?

"Let's just say, school will be out for the day at Rikkai Dai very soon. At least for the middle school," he snickered.

She got the distinct impression this teen could be dangerous. Would it actually be safe to go with him? "Why all the way over here?"

The smirk on his face grew, "Because fukubuchou and the others wouldn't look for me here."

"Fuku…" her voice tapered off. Yep, he was definitely dangerous. "Ano, maybe you can just tell me how to get back to school."

If possible, the smirk grew bigger, "Nope, puri. You have to come with me. I'm kidnapping you."

"Kidnapping me? Eh? B-B-But…"

"Come on!" He grabbed her hand and dragged her away. Now she was well and truly caught, and he had an accomplice for the day.

She thought he seemed nice, but there was no possible way he could be. She had heard the stories about that school. Their buchou was in the hospital, the fukubuchou liked to slap people, they had a demon on the team, and another person who could imitate others and pull pranks on them. The school was full of scary people. Maybe she should have run while she had the chance. She tried to pry her hand away from his, however, as she struggled, he held tighter. "N-Niou-kun?"

"Hmm?"

"Where are we going?"

"Here and there."

"Here and there?" Her quiet voice could barely be heard.

"Yep. We'll get some lunch first and then decide what to do from there." He stopped tugging her and stopped to pull his phone out of his pocket, and then he held the screen up for her to view, "Told you school would be cancelled."

Why did she get the distinct impression it had been cancelled because of something he did? She was doomed.

Sitting on the other side of the park eating a meat bun about thirty minutes later, he asked, "Puri. Why are you skipping? You seem like the goody goody type, so why skip?"

Her cheeks started to burn again and she refused to look at him, "Ano…I don't…nothing. No reason. I just needed a break."

"You fail a big test or something?"

"No!"

"Your crush dating your best friend?"

That wasn't exactly it, but it was close enough, "N-No." Standing up, she threw away her trash and started storming off towards the entrance. When she got about five feet away from him, she turned and bowed, "Arigato and sayonara." She didn't make it another two steps before he grabbed her arm.

"I can't let you do that just yet. I promise not to ask anything else. So, let's finish our holiday."

"Hol-i-day? Nande?"

"Because I'm bored and I think we can have some fun. Do you play tennis?"

Her eyes fell to her feet again, "Not very well."

"Then I'll teach you." He started to pull her towards the public courts, and without rhyme or reason, she followed caught up in his pace instead of her own.

Even Sakuno had to admit that she was having fun playing hooky with Niou, and she wasn't exactly sure why. He moved the beat of his own drum, didn't listen to her, pulled her hair, and teased her endlessly during their tennis match; however, thanks to him, she hadn't had time to think about what awaited her back at school and home, she felt more confident serving and with her forehand, and it felt refreshing. Unlike Ryoma, he actually gave her practical instruction and showed her what he was talking about. Maybe, Niou wasn't such a bad guy after all. After they were done playing tennis, they went to the arcade where Niou won her a small bear from the claw machine, and then chose to walk her back to school; and that is when she decided Niou Masaharu was a horrible person.

Instead of leaving her at the corner down the block from the school, he dragged her into the gates and to the tennis courts. Her grandmother wasn't there, but Ryoma and the other regulars were. She had fought and struggled for freedom, only to find herself standing face to chest with Tezuka, and his glare was chilling. "A-A-Ano…Tezuka-buchou…ano…"

Tezuka's eyes darted between the first year and the teen from another school. As soon as he had seen them approaching, he knew exactly who the silver haired boy was, and he wanted to rip Sakuno away from him. Niou Masaharu had a reputation and was exactly the kind of influence sweet Sakuno did not need in her life. "Your obaa-chan is looking for you. She's in her office." Hearing the sounds of silence behind him, he yelled, "20 laps for everyone!" Regulars and non-regulars alike knew better than to push the buttons of their buchou and immediately started running their laps, groaning as they followed orders.

"H-Hai!" Sakuno felt Niou release his grip and she ran towards the school building, happy (kind of) to be free of the troublemaker, but now she had another problem to deal with.

As soon as the girl was gone, Niou snorted, "Puri. Could you be more obvious? Next time, don't hurt her."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but as an unauthorized student, you need to leave my tennis courts and this campus."

"She's cute, isn't she? Puri," he snickered and then turned and started to run. Today had been fun, and maybe girls at Seigaku weren't so bad. Maybe.

What had Sakuno been doing with Niou Masaharu all day? Why had she skipped school? Tezuka could only assume it had something to do with the silver haired troublemaker because there was no way she would do that on her own; even with what happed this morning or the rumors flying around the school.

"Saa, was that Niou-kun from Rikkai Dai?" Fuji asked stepping up to the buchou.

"Hai! Fuji, you should be running your laps as well."

"What was he doing with our sweet little Sakuno?"

"Fuji, laps!"

"Saa, what are we going to do with Ryoma and Osakada-chan?"

There was something evil and sadistic in the other teen's eyes. Something the buchou had seen before and always gave him the chills. "This is between them. Laps!"

"Saa, Tezuka…"

"40 laps!"

"Okay, okay, I'm going," Fuji grin's widened as he left his friend and started his laps. He had every intention of getting the whole story, and when he did, someone might actually pay; and he may also need to pay a visit to Rikkai Dai. Niou did not need to associate with their cute little cheerleader and would need to be warned to stay away.

In Sakuno's eyes, Niou had made things a million times worse. Why had he taken her all the way to the school tennis courts? She could have gone home and suffered her shame privately instead of publically. Her grandmother was going to kill her.

Knocking on the door to the office, Sakuno waited until she had been called, and when she entered, she immediately bowed and stammer, "G-Go-Gomen, obaa-chan!"

Sumire had been worried when she heard her granddaughter had skipped her afternoon lessons, and when she found out no one had seen her since lunch, her gut twisted. Now here she was safe and sound and none the worse for wear. Did the young girl have any idea the kind of worry she had put the older woman through? "Sakuno, where have you been? Are you all right?"

"H-Hai, obaa-chan," she meekly answered.

"Where have you been? What happened?"

Sakuno remained silent unable to rehash her shame.

"No answer?"

A shake of the head was the only answer given.

Sighing. Sumire slumped in her chair, "We'll talk about this more later. Go ahead and go home. Your bag is over there." She pointed towards her granddaughters belongings. As she watched Sakuno gather everything and was about to leave, she asked, "Who brought you back? I saw you with someone in a different uniform."

"Just someone I ran into when I couldn't find my way back. I'll see you at home," she stated quietly and left her grandmother's office. While she might have wanted to kill Niou, there was no reason to sick her own grandmother on him; after all, he was nice enough to help her forget Ryoma...if only for a short period of time. Squeezing the bear he had won her, she wondered if things were not as bad as they seemed, if they would get better quickly. Her heart felt a little lighter after her day with him, still broken, but better. And even though she felt guilty and awful for making her grandmother worry about her, she could not completely regret running away.


	3. Thoughts

**A/N: Niou was such a nice guy and took her out to get her mind off things, and then he delivered her to the lions' den, and now he thinks Tezuka is the one that hurt her. How are things going to develop from here? What will happen next? We'll just have to wait to find out. Sugartensai, i had to mention the date. Lol.** **Also, I will be going to visit my older sister in Virginia for a few weeks. I'll still be writing, but it might get haphazard for a bit. Just wanted to let you know. Enjoy!**

 **PS... My novel is done and back from the proofreaders. After doing some minor corrections, I will be self-publishing this week! I'm beyond excited. As soon as I get it published, I will give you all of the information for those who would like to read it.**

Chapter 3 – Thoughts

Niou couldn't say for sure why he did what he did, but a part of him – a very small miniscule part – felt like he had had one of the best days of his middle school career, and that was saying something considering he was a firm believer of making his own fun. Granted usually others paid for his antics, and occasionally, like today, the school had to be shut down, and that was all right because he didn't care too much what others thought. However, today, hanging out with a girl from an enemy school and then escorting her back, even he had to wonder what had gotten into him. Sure he had fun, but why had he waltzed right into enemy territory to stare down the buchou of the Seigaku tennis team? Was he sick?

Hearing his phone dinging with a new message, he checked to see who had sent him. A number of his fellow classmates and teammates had been sending him messages all day, and Sanada had even tried to call him. Of course, while he was with Sakuno he had ignored everything except the message from Bunta informing him school had been dismissed for the day – a message he had been expecting. However, now that he was home, he knew he couldn't ignore them forever. His teammates might not know where he lived, but between Bunta and Yagyuu, they could be an annoying duo.

His finger flew over the screen as he typed in his password and found two new messages from Bunta and one from his doubles partner, Yagyuu. Mumbling to himself, he recounted the totals, "That's three voicemails and one text from Sanada, one voice mail and two texts from Yanagi, ten texts from Bunta, three texts from Jackal, and eleven from Yagyuu. Huh, none from the brat. Oh, wait, I blocked him last week for texting me at three in the morning and trying to ruin my 'event' for today. Maybe I should unblock him. Nah, it's better this way and I'll get to see more of a reaction. Puri."

Another ding, "That makes eleven for Bunta. He caught up to Yagyuu." He briefly scrolled through the messages and then turned off his phone. He would deal with them tomorrow when and if he went to school. Maybe he should have given Sakuno his phone number. It would have been nice to maybe hang out with her again or to talk, but then again, she was dealing with something and that meant a mess. He didn't like messy. He liked free and no strings and doing whatever the hell he wanted when he wanted. This was a no mess zone.

If that was the case though, he again questioned why he took her all the way back to school. He could have left her at the corner or at the gate, but no, he had to take her all the way to the tennis courts and confront Tezuka. And that's the other thing. Sakuno never actually said who she was running away from. It's just that when Tezuka walked up to them and started giving her attitude and barking orders, Niou got his feathers ruffled and he assumed the buchou was the culprit. Now he wondered if it really was the bespectacled teen. Tezuka had said he didn't know what Niou was talking about. Had it been an act or real?

Shaking his head, Niou told himself not to think about her or the situation any longer. It was a mess and he did not want to deal with a mess…unless it was of his own creation. Like the school. It had taken breaking into the school on three different nights to complete, but when he was done, the school would not have to worry about spring cleaning for a while. Anywhere and everywhere, Niou left his mark in the school. Not even the air vents were safe, and when the clock struck eleven, little explosions went off like be activated, which caused a reaction to other chemicals and the suds started seeping from the chalkboards, tables, lights, desks, and the sprinkler system itself. No one could stop it, and the school soon filled with suds yellow and red soap bubbles. By Niou's calculations, the suds should have reached waist high on the students, and Rikkai Dai would have no choice but to cancel school for the day…maybe longer. Hey, they should commend him because he used science and chemistry to complete the prank, but for some reason, he doubted they would applaud his actions, which made it all the more satisfying.

Of course his antics would have repercussions with his tennis team, and mainly Sanada. Niou had a feeling his fukubuchou would be reserving a special torundorou for him in the morning. Maybe he should skip morning practice…. It was a possibility.

His thoughts drifted back to Sakuno. Today was supposed to be a normal skip day, and yet, he found himself having fun with the girl with twin braids. They played tennis – she sucked. They snacked – she seemed nervous the whole time. He walked her home, or to be more accurate, school – and she looked like she wanted to kill him. Why had he done that again? He didn't know. He only knew that a girl like that should never have to run away embarrassed or because some stupid idiot hurt her; and he didn't care if it was Tezuka, Fuji, Atobe, Sanada, or Yukimura. She was one of those girls that deserved nothing but good things, and someone had hurt her deeply.

Rolling over in his bed to look out the window, he wondered what she was doing right then. Had he helped her to heal a little? Did he need to come and pull a prank on Seigaku they would never forget? She may be clumsy, self-conscious, and desperately needed some tennis lessons, but she was still sweet and maybe a little on the cute side.

He kind of sort of remembered her from some of the tennis matches in the past, but they were vague memories of her practically clinging to her obaa-san. Did he remember her from this year? Not really. Last year a little, however, the images were vague. He would be sure to look for her going forward though – just to make sure she was all right and no one was bullying her anymore.

 _Elsewhere…_

Sakuno walked into her room after taking her bath and took a seat by the window. Staring up at the sky, she wondered how her life had gotten so messed up. Tomoka had called her twice, but she didn't feel like talking to her so called best friend. How could she not see this coming? Tomoka had been crushing on Ryoma just as much as she was, and although Tomoka encouraged the Sakuno/Ryoma pairing, Sakuno always had a feeling that if given the opportunity Tomoka might try to win favor with the tennis ace. When it finally happened, it had been devastating; although, according to Ryoma, there was nothing between them. Then again, according to him, there was nothing between him and Sakuno.

In her world, they had been dating for over a month. They went to dinner together, went to the movies, and played tennis. She thought those were dates, and he thought they were just friends. What was going through that mind of his? She wished she knew and understood because maybe then, it wouldn't hurt so much.

For a small period of time today, she had been able to forget. Niou had stayed with her throughout the day and made sure she enjoyed herself at least a little. Of course if she applied the same logic to today as she had her time with Ryoma, then today was a date. Shaking her head, she declared, "No! Not a date. He was just being nice because I didn't know where I was. I'm sure Niou-kun is just a nice guy and likes to help people who are in trouble. He probably thought he didn't have any choice in the matter."

Her thoughts wandered back to Ryoma. How was it that she thought they were dating when they weren't? She had been so sure, and had fooled herself. Oh how Ryoma and Tomoka were probably laughing at her now. Her face turned red and her eyes stung with tears. Burying her face in her hands, she allowed herself to cry. This would be the last time and then no more. Her heart was broken, but it would heal, and eventually she would find someone who would care about her as she did him…and there would be no question as to their relationship. Ryoma was one in a million and she had other things she needed to focus on right now – like her tennis game.

Tears cried, heartbroken, it was time to forget and let go. Easier said than done, but with time she would be able to do just that. Now she had to figure out how to deal with the embarrassment she would have to deal with tomorrow at school. By now they all knew she had made a mistake in her relationship with Ryoma, and that she had run away. How she wished she could transfer schools to start over and pretend the whole debacle never happened.

Wiping away her the last vestiges of her crying, she gazed up at the moon and wondered what Niou was doing at that moment. He had made her forget and feel better, and for that, she was grateful to him.

 _Elsewhere…_

Ryoma lost yet another match to his father after school. He had all but forgotten what happened earlier with Sakuno and Tomoka. Tennis and Karupin were what was important; although, he did wonder why Sakuno thought they had been dating, and he decided that girls were just weird like that. The only reason he was hanging around her so much was as a favor to his father.


	4. Paybacks

**A/N: It has been longer than anticipated since my last update, but I wound up extending my visit with my sister. Sorry for the long absence. I hope everyone is doing well. Well, now you know what a lot of the characters were thinking. Enjoy the new chapter!**

Chapter 4 – Paybacks

Tezuka arrived at the tennis courts early. The morning before it had been raining and morning practice had been cancelled, but this morning proved to be more in line with the weather tennis players like him loved. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the air was crisp as it usually was after a cleansing rain. He had held high hopes for this morning's practice with his tennis team, and as soon as he arrived, those hopes were dashed and he had the overwhelming urge to kill someone, to assign a million laps, and (yes, I used the word **and** ) to force everyone to drink Inui's latest drink concoction – praying even Fuji would be disgusted by it this time.

Why, you ask?

Stopping ten feet in front of his beloved middle school tennis courts, Tezuka froze in place and stood there like a statue. He had not even made it as far as the dressing room. He couldn't. His courts, the very courts his team used and practiced on virtually every day, were destroyed. Well, not destroyed as in blown up. No, they weren't missing or dug up. No, it was something else entirely. Something like that would have made the buchou mad and petrified with anger, but this might actually be worse. All of the courts, each and everyone one of them...the fencing around the courts, and even their locker room had been tp'd. Toilet paper was everywhere, and with the dampness from the morning dew, all of it was wet and turning to plaster. It would take more than one practice for the entire tennis team to clean up this mess. And in the middle of it all, hanging from one of the fences where everyone could see, a sign had been hung, "You deserve this and more! Paybacks for Sakuno!"

Tick marks were appearing over Tezuka's head, beside his head, and…actually, his whole body would soon be covered by them and his friends would only be able to see a collection of tick marks if this continued. Needless to say, the Seigaku buchou was more than a little upset and anyone who happened to come upon him in that moment would be able to see it. In fact, they could see it from a distance since the tick marks were giving off a nice bit of light.

On their way to the tennis courts, Kikumaru, Fuji, and Oishi walked together and stopped when they saw a red glow in the short distance. They had only turned the corner and could see their buchou standing there immersed in tick marks. What had caused a reaction such as that? He was still in his school uniform, so he had not even changed into his tennis uniform. Their eyes drifted to the left and fell upon the trashed tennis courts. They had their answer.

Seeing the mess, Oishi started to panic, "What happened here? How are we supposed to practice like this?"

Kikumaru was more afraid of his leader and hid behind a bush, "Oishi, he's gonna blow! Hide!"

Snickering, Fuji was the only one brave enough – and the only one who kept his wits about him – to approach the buchou, "Saa, Tezuka, what did you do?"

His hands, already clenched into fists, squeezed tighter at hearing his friend's voice, "Fuji!"

"Well they attacked the tennis courts, and look… there is even a sign."

"Fuji!"

"I didn't do it. You don't have to get so upset with me. Although, you have to appreciate the simplicity of the prank. Simple and yet perfect for retribution," Fuji's smile broadened as he admired the work…uh mess before him.

"Fuji!"

"I'm glad you know my name, Tezuka, but you really need to speak using other words as well."

"100 laps!" Tezuka felt a little proud of himself because he really wanted to give his friend more than that.

"Saa, maybe. I'm not the one who did this. I can probably guess who did though," he laughed and stepped away from Tezuka expecting the buchou to blow at any moment. This situation may not have been of his own making, but he was truly enjoying himself watching his friends' reaction to this prank. If he had to guess, Fuji believed wholeheartedly that Niou from Rikkai Dai was behind it, and while he applauded the trickster on one hand, he also knew that the silver haired teen needed to learn a lesson about trashing other schools. "Ne, Tezuka, are you going to call Sanada now?"

About to blow his stack, Tezuka spun around and growled, "200 laps!"

"Tezuka, how are we going to clean this up? There's no way we can practice with the courts like this," Oishi fretted, making sure to keep his distance because his friend was looking unusually red in the face and quite murderous.

"Ois," a bored voice sounded from below them. Looking down and around, they found a white hat making its way towards the locker rooms seeming to have not noticed the state of the campus before him.

"Echizen!" Tezuka bellowed, "50 laps and then clean up this mess! Practice is cancelled. Oishi, get everyone on the courts and cleaning!" He stomped off towards his coach's office before he did something he might regret.

Lifting his head, Ryoma stared after the retreating back of his buchou and then looked around, finally taking in the sight of the ruined courts before him, "What happened?"

Fuji grinned and wrapped an arm around his kohai's shoulders, "Come on, Echizen. Let's talk about girls and how to treat them properly while we run. Everything you do has repercussions."

"Eh?" The shorter ace had no idea what the resident sadist was talking about, and he certainly didn't like the glint in the other man's eyes. That shimmer could mean his death, and he still had things he wanted to accomplish in life – like beating his father in tennis. "Uh, Fuji-senpai…"

"Let's go. Both of us have laps to complete," Fuji's smile widened as he laughed and dragged the tennis ace behind him towards the locker room; after all, they couldn't run in their school uniform. It is said that when he laughed that morning, a cold chilly wind blew through the school grounds and Kikumaru wondered if he needed to grab his winter coat.

About thirty minutes later, Sakuno walked towards the tennis courts and stopped dead in her tracks. Why was everything white? Who had done something like this to the Seigaku tennis team? Could it have been Hyotei? It was no secret that the two teams held some animosity towards each other, but she was certain it was more like a healthy competitive respect. Like how Mukahi always tried to beat Kikumaru in acrobatics, or how Oshitari always tried to beat Fuji as a tensai, or how Atobe just always tried to be better than Tezuka. Surely it wouldn't come down to this. So who would do something…? She gasped. Surely it couldn't have be Niou! He wouldn't… would he?

Approaching cautiously, Sakuno's eyes scanned the area to take in the extent of the damage. Had Tezuka seen the courts yet? She didn't see him, but that didn't mean anything. He could be in her grandmother's office right now. And if he has seen this mess, she wondered if he had actually blown a gasket.

"Saa, Sakuno, have you come to help us clean up?" Fuji inquired seeing the cute girl.

"Fu-Fuji-senpai! What happened?" She timidly asked, her eyes still searching for the buchou.

"He isn't here. Tezuka went up to your obaa-chan's office," he smiled.

She jumped, "Eh? I…I…"

"You were. If it was Ryoma, he is over there cleaning. I'm right in front of you, and Eiji is climbing the fence. Your eyes would be skyward if you were looking for him. So naturally it's Tezuka."

It was true, she was looking for him, but only to make sure he had not had a complete conniption fit, "He's seen?"

"Mmm, saa, he has."

"Who did this, Fuji-senpai?"

"You don't know?" The shock he felt could be seen on his face.

"Eh? ME? I don't know! I promise! I didn't do this!" She rushed to defend herself and proclaim her innocence.

Snickering, he responded, "I didn't think you had, but this was done for you. See the sign?" He pointed towards where the sign once hung and found Eiji climbing like a monkey instead.

"Sign?" Peering around him, she looked and found nothing but her red headed senpai.

"It's on the ground. Apparently this is revenge on your behalf."

"Re-Revenge?" Her head was spinning and she was having a hard time keeping up.

"Saa, actually Niou has a reputation for pranking people. He doesn't need an excuse, but I guess he chose to use you as an excuse to prank us."

"NIOU-KUN?"

"Hai! Weren't you with him yesterday? He did try to challenge Tezuka."

"Ch-Challenge Tezuka-buchou?"

"Really, this is all Echizen's fault though. The way he led you on and then caused all that trouble and now he drug poor Tezuka into this…" He let his words drop there. While this whole situation was a little odd and uncomfortable – their courts were just tp'd after all – it also presented a prime opportunity to have a little fun for the tensai/sadist. And maybe, he could make Echizen and Tezuka squirm just a little; and of course, Niou needed to receive a little payback, but that could happen later. Maybe, he would even play matchmaker.

Sakuno took the bait (like Fuji knew she would), "What happened to Tezuka-buchou?!"

"Saa. Don't worry about it. He will get over it."

She would have asked more, but suddenly the person they were talking about yelled out of the window overlooking the courts, "Fuji! 50 more laps and get to work!"

"Buchou doesn't seem like he's in a very good mood," Sakuno timidly commented.

Patting her head, Fuji told her, "Don't worry about it. He's just upset we couldn't practice this morning, but we are still getting a workout."

"Sakuno!" The sound of Tomoka could be heard in the distance.

"I'll…I'll let you go. Bye!" The first year rushed before she ran off, still unable to face her friend. It was all still too embarrassing, and this stunt of Niou's did not help matters at all. The school would already be talking about her…and now this. Maybe her grandmother would allow her to become a hermit.

The moment Tomoka started to run past the tennis courts, Fuji stopped her by stepping in her way. She had to stop suddenly and fell to the ground, "Ano. Sorry, Fuji-senpai. I...I didn't see you there."

Chuckling, the tensai spoke sweetly, "It's quite all right. No harm done." He held out his hand to help her up, and when he pulled her forward, he whispered, "We take care of our own. Sakuno is a friend…you aren't. And while you think you might be with Echizen now, you are making the same assumptions Sakuno did. He doesn't care about you or anything outside of tennis. Remember that." Releasing his grip on her arm, he walked away and returned to his cleaning duties leaving her to blink confusedly at his retreating back.

Tomoka felt like her very life had just been threatened with Fuji's words. Surely he had been wrong and she and Ryoma really did have something between them…maybe. Honestly after what happened with Sakuno, she wasn't exactly sure, but she knew she liked Ryoma and that was enough for now. That being said, she felt guilty for hurting her best friend. Then again, shouldn't her best friend be happy for her? That just made her sound like a hypocrite. She didn't know any more, however, she wanted Ryoma and even though it appeared her best friend and he were doing well, she couldn't resist asking him out.

Shaking her head, she looked at Fuji once more and caught a glimpse of a smile that truly scared her. Now was not the time to think about deep and meaningful things. Now was the time to run away.

 ** _Elsewhere…_**

School was cancelled, but in true Rikkai Dai fashion, tennis practice had not been. Thus as Niou walked to tennis practice – and to potentially face a firing squad – he wondered if Sakuno had received his gift. He wasn't sure who had hurt her, but this should cover most (if not all) of the bases. And maybe after his torturous practice was over, after he received his epic torundorou, and after he regained consciousness (he was sure Sanada was going to force him to dig a hole straight to the afterlife), he would take a little jaunt over to Seishun Gakuen for a small visit. He really wanted to see them squirm.

And maybe, just a little, he wanted to see Sakuno as well.


	5. Declaration of War

**A/N: I hope everyone is having a good summer. Poor Seigaku had their tennis courts tp'd and it was all because Niou was trying to obtain retribution for Sakuno. Don't worry, the romance will start to bloom a little more…and the pranks might not be done. Enjoy!**

 **PS… For those interested, I have published my book Another Chance and it is available in a softback or e-book on Amazon (although, I have been told you should be able to order the book from major book sellers in 6-8 weeks). Another Chance by Maria Vickers. Thank you everyone!**

Chapter 5 – Declaration of War

The one thing Niou wanted to know right now…how exactly did Sanada deliver a torundorou of epic proportions, one that had sent Niou flying across three courts and into the fencing, and yet, there was no blood? How? It didn't seem possible, but as he wiped his cheek and lip, no red stuff stained his hand or shirt. While he had mentally prepared himself for such action, he couldn't completely wrap his head around how bad it would be…and this was worse than his imagination conjured. Still, he refused to show his fukubuchou he was shaken. Snickering, he got to his feet and said, "Is that all? Or did you have laps for me too?"

Sanada wanted to slap him again, but held himself back and yelled, "200 laps, and you will stay here until they are all done today!"

Hearing the wincing coming from his fellow teammates, Niou just smiled and started his laps, making sure to use the exit closest to him and furthest from Sanada. The sooner he got away, the sooner he could start to run his laps (although, he had no intention of finishing all 200), the sooner he could get away from Sanada's discerning eye, and the sooner he could hop on the train and be at Seigaku to bear witness to the fruits of his labor.

Although it was normal to see the fukubuchou blow his stack, and Niou being the reason behind the anger more time than naught, watching everything unfold this morning…let's just say it was painful to watch. And then to hear the amount of laps…normally, that many would be spread out during the week (sometimes), but this time it was everything at once. Would Niou's legs even work after that? Probably not. Then again, he had brought this upon himself. Where had he gone and why had he done what he did. All thoughts screeched to a halt. There was never any rhyme or reason as to why Niou pulled the pranks he did and the moment the regulars believed there was, that was the day they were doomed. Maybe. Would Niou kill them for even attempting to think like him? When it came to the silver headed tennis player…one never actually knew what he would do.

Twenty laps into his punishment, Niou heard a bellow that shook the very ground he ran upon. His name, and Sanada sounded even madder than before. "I guess Tezuka called Sanada," he chuckled.

Running up to his friend, Marui asked, "What did you do this time?"

"Niou-kun, did you prank Seigaku?" Yagyuu inquired as he appeared on the opposite side of his double's partner.

"Eh? Seigaku?"

"Why else would Tezuka-kun call our fukubuchou?"

"What did you do?!"

"Nothing much. They did it to themselves," Niou smirked.

"What brought you to that conclusion?" Yagyuu asked.

A playful smile appeared on Niou's face and he started to laugh, "Whatever happened, and I'm not saying it was me, I'm sure they deserved it."

Both Marui and Yagyuu stopped in their tracks. There was something in his tone of voice, in his smile, that told him he actually believed the nonsense he was spouting. Did their friend finally lose his mind? Did they need to commit him? No, they needed him on their tennis team, but something felt different about Niou today.

His name echoed throughout the land again, and the silverette snickered, "I'll see you guys later." However, as he was trying to make his escape, Sanada appeared in front of him, called down a lightning bolt, and knocked him to the ground. "You know, lightning kills." He had jumped out of the way in enough time and landed on his backside.

"What did you do?" Sanada demanded.

"Whatever do you mean? Puri."

"You…Seigaku…You…the courts…Seigaku…You…"

"Niou-senpai broke fukubuchou!" Kirihara cried out. "What are we going to do? With buchou in the hospital, we don't have anyone!"

Pushing up his glasses, Yagyuu stated, "He is not broken and will be fine. He is just in shock."

"98.2% Niou left his calling card. 100% there is a reason to suspect him. 74.9% it involves some sort of small explosive," Yanagi commented.

"Don't worry, it didn't involve any explosives…well, unless Tezuka exploded," Niou retorted.

Yagyuu crossed his arms and asked, "What exactly did you do and why?"

"I didn't do much. I just gave them the means to clean up their act a little. As to why, what would you do if you found a girl crying? Piyo?"

Those cryptic words could mean anything, but it was what he said at the end that caught their attention. Three of the regulars gasped, "EH?" Sanada was still trying to find his words again, and Yanagi just stood there with a blank face. Yagyuu, Kirihara, and Marui were unable to hold in their shock.

"What do you mean you found a girl crying?" Marui demanded.

Shrugging, he smiled, "Nothing much. Sanada, aren't I supposed to be running? I think all of you are in my way. Puri." Without saying anything else, he left his teammates behind. He had been about to run away and head for Seigaku, but now he would have to bide his time again, and hopefully it would be before he finished 200 laps.

It took him most of the day, and almost all of his assigned laps, but he was finally released (of course, that might be because he lied and said he did all 200 laps. Yanagi probably knew he hadn't, but he didn't say anything, and Sanada still appeared to be at a loss for words. Needless to say, no one stopped him). He rushed to the train station and jumped on the first one available that would get him only a couple blocks from his desired location, but it was not as simple as all of that. People were following him, and he knew even if he managed to lose them, they would show up at Seishun Gakuen. His choices were to get off early and return home, he could find a hiding place down the street from the school and hope Sakuno walks his way, or he could waltz into the school and be bold. He was the more incognito type of guy, and therefore, after ditching his teammates, he ducked behind a bush a block away from the school. His friends ran right by him without ever seeing him.

And thankfully, luck was on Niou's side. He had found his hiding spot about the time school let out, and another hour later, through a hole in bush, he spotted his intended target running towards him. He could also hear the sounds of another girl calling her name. Standing up, he grabbed her arm, and pulled her into the bush with him. A couple minutes later the sound of someone running came close and then passed them. It wasn't lost on Niou that as the steps and the sound of a girl calling Sakuno's name got closer, the girl by his side stiffened, and it wasn't until her pursuer passed did she relax slightly…but that only lasted for a moment "I think your safe, puri," he whispered in an effort to calm her down.

"N-N-Niou-kun!" Sakuno squeaked.

"Shh! We don't know how close she is!"

Nodding, she dropped her voice's volume to be nothing more than a hushed whisper, "N-Niou-kun, what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, piyo."

"A-Ano, nande?"

He eyed her for a moment before shrugging, "Boredom. Curiosity. Who was that girl?"

Her eyes dropped to her lap, "Nobody."

When she said that, a small pang appeared in his chest. This was something he had never experienced before and wasn't even sure what it was. "Want to go have some fun?"

"Obaa-chan told me to go straight home after tennis practice."

"Well, then tennis practice isn't over. Let's go to the tennis courts. Puri. Besides that girl probably went to your house…unless you're ready to talk to her."

"NO!" Her face turned bright red and she stammered, "I…I…I mean, ano, eto, no. We can go and play tennis."

Peering through the holes in the bush, he saw no one he knew coming. He popped his head out and got a better look, and still found the coast clear, "Okay, let's go before they find us."

"Ano, they? Oh, I think your team is doing practice matches at my school." This reminded her of the condition of the tennis courts, "N-Niou-kun, why did you mess up the tennis courts?"

He smirked, "Boredom. Curiosity. Justice."

"Eh?"

"Talk later. Let's go before they find us," he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the bushes and towards the public courts.

She wasn't exactly sure why she went along with him, however, she knew she did not feel like confronting Tomoka or dealing with anything else right now. Niou at least offered her a small escape, a small period of time where she could forget her worries and heartbreak, and she would take it. He was different than the boys at her school, he seemed to spurn being normal and instead followed his own tune. It was something she had always longed to do, but never had the guts to follow through with it. Her hand tightened on his as she ran to keep up with him, a small smile finding its way to her face. When he was around, she didn't have the time to think about Ryoma or anything else, and that was fine. It was what she needed right now.

Niou felt her hand tighten in his and his heart skipped a beat. It was probably all of the running he was doing today. Maybe he was developing a heart condition after being slapped and then running all day. It was possible, and yet, he wondered if that was really the reason. Was it wrong to cross his fingers and hope the others didn't come to the courts to find them?

Their reprieve only lasted for an hour.

After most of the Rikkai Dai regulars arrived at afternoon practice, and wound up helping to clean up the remaining mess Niou had left for them, Fuji convinced Tezuka, Sanada, Yanagi, Yagyuu, Inui, and Ryoma that they could play a game or two at the public courts not too far from the school. Marui was afraid of missing the afternoon special at the local bakery near his house, so he left as soon as he could, and the rest of the Seigaku regulars wanted to be as far away from Tezuka as possible today. They weren't expecting to find Niou and Sakuno as soon as they crested the staircase which led to the courts.

"Ryuzaki-san!" Tezuka called out.

At the same time, Sanada yelled, "NIOU!"

"Tezuka-buchou!" Sakuno spun around when her name was called and found a very irritated looking bespectacled teen. Getting hit in the head with the tennis ball Niou had hit towards her just made it that much worse. And seeing Ryoma with the group, tripled her embarrassment. She had been having fun with Niou, and now, she just wanted to crawl in a hole and live there.

Sighing, Niou muttered, "Puri. What are they doing here?"

"Saa, Niou-kun, I see you kidnapped our cute little cheerleader," Fuji smiled. "What do you think, Echizen?"

"She's still gripping the tennis racket wrong, her hair is still too long, and she is not keeping her eyes on the ball. I thought we were here to play tennis," Ryoma stated in a bored voice.

Sakuno flinched with each criticism her not actually ex, ex listed…and the reaction did not miss the discerning eyes of her tennis partner, "I'm sure if we went into your past and looked at when you first started to play, you pretty much sucked. Puri."

"Niou!" Sanada shouted again.

"What? Fine. I'm going to take Sakuno home and then go home myself."

Ryoma felt like he had just been challenged, and said, "Or I could beat you in tennis."

"Maybe, but I don't feel like playing an ochibi who acts like a spoiled child and who wants to pick on a girl rather than helping her."

This had not been what anyone was expecting to hear coming from the silverette's mouth.

After grabbing their stuff, Niou and Sakuno brushed passed their classmates and the prankster spoke only low enough for Tezuka and Ryoma to hear, "I'm taking her away from you." He still wasn't sure who had hurt her and he still suspected Tezuka, but after what just happened, his suspicions were starting to encompass Ryoma as well. He just declared war on the boys of Seigaku.


	6. Plans

**A/N: For everyone that is about to start school and for those who have already started, good luck in the coming year! Enjoy the new chapter!**

Chapter 6 – Plans

As he watched the silver haired boy and the brunette girl leave, Tezuka was positive of his current feeling – he wanted to kill Niou Masaharu. Now he understood exactly what Sanada felt on a daily basis. How was the silverette still breathing…or not confined to a hospital room? First, he convinces Sakuno to skip school – Tezuka wasn't even aware they knew each other. Then, Niou trashes the tennis courts Seigaku uses every day for practice. Next, the silverette convinces Sakuno to ignore her grandmother's orders in order to go play tennis together. And finally, he threatened them – well, the threat was mainly for Ryoma's benefit since Tezuka didn't hold any feelings for his kohai at all. If he had to classify his feelings for her, it would be brotherly devotion.

Yes, the murderous rage Niou was able to stir up within the stoic buchou surpassed anything his team had ever done – which was saying something considering Momo and Fuji were on his team.

Why would the silverette be targeting him in general? Tezuka wasn't sure. It didn't even make sense! Did he really think that he would date his coach's granddaughter? This was all Ryoma's fault! And knowing it was his fault, he should have been the one to clean up the courts by himself, but knowing his player, Tezuka knew if he forced the tennis ace to clean by himself, it may take the rest of the season before it got done…if at all.

"Take her away?" The bespectacled teen mumbled to himself. If this was about some other girl in the school or even a different school (basically any other girl on the planet), Tezuka would probably wash his hands of the entire mess. He had tennis to think about and didn't want any kind of distraction, especially one of this magnitude. However, this wasn't just any girl, and he couldn't exactly turn his back on the coach's granddaughter. If he tried, he may find his tennis career suddenly cut short. This meant he had to involve himself in a sticky situation and with his current luck, Niou would probably believe the involvement proved he had feelings for Sakuno – which he did not!

This was a messy situation, and Niou just made everything worse than they were before. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard Fuji talking (probably sounded more like a threat) to Ryoma, and he would have sweat dropped or face palmed, but that would have been too out of character for him at the moment. Somehow, he was able to restrain himself.

"Saa. Echizen-kun, don't you think it's funny how one little decision or a few words can create a lot of problems for the people around you? If only you would have thought about that a little more," Fuji grinned menacingly at his kohai.

"What are you talking about, Fuji-senpai? Aren't we here to play tennis? Now that they left, we have an extra free court," Ryoma replied. How was it his fault that Sakuno assumed they were dating when they weren't?

"If our cute little cheerleader gets hurt or something happens to her, I think the person responsible should pay. Don't you?"

The younger student found himself involuntarily gulping before he mustered his courage and repeated, "I thought we were going to play tennis." Did this mean he had to clean up a situation that wasn't his doing? Girls were definitely more trouble than they were worth. Truthfully, if anyone should have to fix this, it should be his lazy old man. He's the one that forced Ryoma to hang out with Sakuno in the first place.

 ** _Down the road from the tennis court…_**

The silence dragging between Sakuno and Niou felt oppressive, and when Niou couldn't handle it any longer, he told her, "Piyo. You shouldn't listen to that baka Echizen. He thinks he knows more than he does, but I'm positive he didn't pop out of his mother's stomach swinging a racket and winning matches."

"Hai," she answered, her head hanging low with her chin practically resting on her chest.

Only minutes before, they had been having so much fun together; and now it felt more like the end of the world was on the verge of crashing down upon them. Had a death sentence been ordered without his knowledge? Maybe it wasn't what Ryoma said, but it was seeing Tezuka there. "If Tezuka bothers you, you should just kick him. Puri."

"Hai…EH?! N-N-N-N-NO! I can't do that to Tezuka-buchou!" Sakuno stopped in her tracks and started to panic.

"It's better than letting him bully you."

"Eh? Tezuka-buchou didn't…"

"Don't defend him."

"But…but Niou-kun, Tezuka-buchou…"

Holding up his hand, he interrupted her before she could continue, "Did he or did he not just yell at you? Puri."

"Ano. He did that because…"

"Did he or did he not?" Niou demanded.

Her voice sounded small and hesitant, "H-Hai."

"Don't let him bully or yell at you."

Sakuno got the impression that somewhere between yesterday and today, a huge misunderstanding had occurred. "N-Niou-kun?"

"Hmm?" He hummed in response as he grabbed her hand and resumed their stroll to her house.

His hand felt warm and comforting, strong and secure, and Sakuno found herself grasping his, tightening the bond between them. Was this how it was supposed to feel? She actually didn't know because the one time Ryoma held her hand, it was him jerking her around so that she wouldn't get lost in the crowd. She couldn't even remember what his hand really felt like. Had it been like this? Something told her, it hadn't.

"Sakuno?" He asked when she didn't say anything. Squeezing her hand, he repeated her name, "Sakuno."

"Huh? Oh! Ano…" What was she going to say again? "Oh! Tezuka-buchou wasn't the one that hurt me."

"What are you talking about?"

"I didn't run away from school because of him."

He wasn't exactly sure if he believed her or not, but he would accept it if she said it…that didn't mean he wouldn't prank the enemy buchou. Tezuka deserved to have that stoic façade chipped away, and Niou knew exactly how to do it. Besides, he had a feeling that even if he was not the cause, the bespectacled teen had feelings for this petite girl, and a sense of competition burned within him at the mere thought of that. "Does it have something to do with that girl you were avoiding?" Seeing her head dip down again was all the answer he needed, "What happened?"

Crickets made more noise than Sakuno in that moment of time.

"Did she steal your boyfriend or crush?" He felt her flinch through their connected hands. "If you don't want to talk about it…" She was dragging her feet and he could tell this was still difficult and embarrassing for her; thus, he would change the subject for now…and later, he would find out the identity of the mystery girl. "Do you think you would be able to meet up again to play tennis this weekend?"

"Ano, don't you have a tournament this weekend?" She asked, her voice as small as a mouse, and it almost squeaked just as much.

"We do, but the tournament is only on Saturday. I was asking to see if you would like to play on Sunday."

"I don't know if my Obaa-chan will let me. She is still angry I skipped school yesterday and…"

"Just tell her that you're getting private lessons from me. Puri."

She wasn't sure why, but for some reason she started to giggle a little, "I don't know if she would like that either."

"But you'll ask."

His words were a declaration. Not a question or request. Niou was demanding and certain she would do what he wanted, and she couldn't seem to find a reason to turn him down, "Hai, I'll ask."

"Good. Now, let's get you home before your dragon…I mean your Obaa-chan gets mad. Puri."

"Hai!"

"Now we just need to pray I'm still breathing and haven't been admitted to the hospital before Sunday."

"Eh? N-Niou-kun?"

"Never know what can happen. Puri," he chucked, and under his breath he added, "I have a feeling another torundorou is coming my way." Well, if he was going to die anyway, he may as well have fun while he could; and even he had to admit, he liked being around Sakuno. She was a breath of fresh air. Although, when you really only hung around jocks all the time, anything could be considered a breath of fresh air. Still, she was different from most of the girls he had been subjected to...in a good way. Now if only Sanada wouldn't kill him with internal injuries from a powerful torundorou...or lightning. Lightning was always a possibility, and so was fire, typhoon winds, etc.

 ** _Back at the tennis courts…_**

Sanada sneezed and missed the ball that had been sent his way by Tezuka, and he yelled, "Niou! Torundorou!"


	7. For A Sadist's Enjoyment

**A/N: Do you think Niou will make it to Sunday? We'll see. I really wanted to bring Yukimura into this story because I love him and I believe two sadists are better than one. LOL. Enjoy the new chapter!**

 **PS…** **My Twilight FF Meetings, Memories, and Destiny was nominated for top ten finished Twilight FF of August. If you would like to vote for me, I would greatly appreciate it. The link is www dot twifanfictionrecs dot com. You can vote once a day per device. THANK YOU! I know that this is a Prince of Tennis story, but since some of you read all genres and on top of that, I'm not below just asking for the votes. LOL.**

Chapter 7 – For A Sadist's Enjoyment

There weren't many people Niou feared…actually no one really came to mind; however, standing in front of this particular large building and staring up at the higher floors, the silverette couldn't shake the small – miniscule really – amount of trepidation he felt flowing through his body.

Some people said that behind some smiles lay at least a small level of pain, but Niou was sure those people didn't know Yukimura Seiichi. Behind his smile hid a sadist of the first order and the silverette was pretty sure his blue haired buchou was related to a demon somewhere in his bloodline. Did that ever stop Niou from contriving and executing pranks? Not at all. He counted it as his life's mission to prank his friends, teammates, school, other teams, perfect strangers, etc. and he would continue to do so.

All of this was well and good, except when he got to school for morning practice, he received torundorou that sent him flying against a tree and the tree fell to the ground (it was more like a sapling), and then Niou had been informed by his powerful fukubuchou that Yukimura wanted to see him after school, ergo he was dismissed from afternoon practice. Now, the silverette could have ignored the summons and skipped out on the visit, but he was afraid if he did that, he really would end up dead and buried and miss his tennis date on Sunday.

Therefore, he went to the hospital as scheduled, and stood there like a statue in front of the front entrance looking upwards for what seemed like an eternity. It's not like he had a choice, he had to go inside; and yet, after standing there for ten minutes he still had not moved. If he could truly claim not to be afraid of the aptly nicknamed "Child of God", then he had to get moving. Niou refused to be called a coward for being afraid to enter a hospital in order to visit a sick friend.

Taking in a deep breath, he finally walked through the sliding glass doors and towards the elevators. His heart started to pound a little harder as the elevator climbed higher and higher. When the door slid open on Yukimura's floor, Niou swallowed hard and stepped out ready to face his fate.

He walked down the hall, adjusting his tennis bag on his shoulder, his steps echoing in the empty hall. Why was he nervous? It wasn't like the bluenette could do anything to him while he was in the hospital. Add to that the fact that his friend was too weak to do much harm, and Niou started to feel pretty good about the visit. Of course when it came to Yukimura, it wasn't necessarily the present you had to worry about, it was the future, which would suit Niou just fine as long as it happened after Sunday.

The destined door appeared on his right and he stopped before it and lifted his hand, but before his knuckles could hit the door, a voice called out from the other side of the door, "Come in, Niou." The silverette cringed. The Child of God indeed.

Without wasting any more time, Niou entered the room with a smirk and said, "You beckoned? Puri."

Yukimura sat up in his hospital bed, a bright smile lighting up his face and he greeted his friend and fellow teammate, "Konnichiwa, Niou. How has everything been?"

If this was how his buchou wanted to play things, Niou would follow along, "Good. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Sanada still likes to yell and is probably on the verge of a heart attack if he doesn't learn how to chill out a little. Yanagi is still collecting everyone's data. Bunta is still eating cake and chewing gum. Jackal is still bald. Hiroshi is still a good double's partner. And the brat is still a brat. Was there anything else you needed to know, or did you just call me here for a status update on the team?"

If possible, the bluenette's smile grew, "And how is Seigaku?"

"Oh, they are still there and will most assuredly be a thorn in our side if Tezuka has anything to say about it." He kept his tone and attitude blasé.

"I hear they had some recent trouble with their tennis courts."

"Did they? Well I hear that there is a bad seed there and someone did try to teach them a lesson. Puri."

"Souka. And I hear you are spending quality time with a girl from Seigaku. The coach's granddaughter I believe is what I was told."

"Piyo. You're well informed as usual," Niou muttered under his breath, his cheeks turning slightly pink, and he wished to all the kami in the universe that the slight blush would go away or not be noticed by his buchou. His prayers went unanswered.

"Souka. Maybe it is more than just spending time with her?"

"I'm just teaching her tennis."

"Teaching her? Isn't her obaa-san a tennis coach?"

"She needed help and I offered to help her."

"Uh huh."

"And the destruction of the Seigaku tennis courts were what? A temporary case of insanity?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, puri."

"No? So you weren't the one that decided to decorate the tennis courts with toilet paper or sign proclaiming your love for the girl?"

"Sakuno."

"Excuse me?"

"Her name is Sakuno."

Yukimura snickered, "Yes, of course it is. Forgive me. About the sign…"

"Let's just say it said nothing about love and they got what they deserved."

Shaking his head, the bluenette commented, "Filling our school with bubbles, skipping practices, destruction to another school's property, getting Sakuno to skip school, coercing her to…"

"I didn't coerce her to do anything!" Niou interrupted.

"But you don't deny the rest of it?"

The silverette smirked and snorted with mirth, "Do you expect me to? Puri."

A snicker, "I never quite know what to expect when it comes to Rikkai Dai's number one trickster. And I have to admit that it was slightly entertaining to hear Tezuka's impassioned phone call."

"So he was the one that called you?"

"He wasn't the only one. Care to explain yourself?"

"Do I ever?"

"Why don't you start?"

There was a certain glint in the bluenette's eyes and Niou suddenly felt scared…not that he would admit to such a thing. Clearing his throat, he stated, "I found her in a park, we hung out, and now I'm helping her. End of story." His heart lurched at his words and he felt like he was betraying Sakuno with a lie, but he wasn't. Was he?

"End of story? Souka."

"What?"

"Nothing. You are to stay away from Seigaku and their tennis courts. You are to show up for all practices and games, and for the next two weeks, you are on cleaning duty both at school and at our tournaments."

"Whatever."

"And you aren't allowed to brush your duties off onto others."

"That's it?" Since his buchou had not forbidden him from seeing or associating with Sakuno…not that anyone could actually keep him from seeing her.

"Maybe."

"Fine. Whatever, puri."

"And Niou?"

He didn't like the sound of the bluenette's voice, "What?"

"If you decide to continue 'teaching' Sakuno, be cautious."

Niou chuckled, "What? You don't want to see a jealous Tezuka lose his mind?"

"Do you really think he's jealous?"

"Possibly."

"This may be fun to watch," Yukimura snickered. If nothing else, this whole situation with Niou would be entertaining. Sanada was on the verge of losing his stack, Tezuka had lost his cool, and Niou had blushed earlier. Yes, this was going to be interesting indeed.

Unsure what to say or think about that, the trickster said, "Piyo. Ok. Anything else?"

"Not at the moment."

For some reason, he thought this meeting would be worse and that his very life would be threatened. Maybe it was because the bluenette was in the hospital or maybe it was because he wanted to see what happened next, but Niou felt like he was offered a reprieve.

"So when will you be 'teaching' her again?"

Eyes narrowed and the silverette tilted his head to the side, "Possibly on Sunday."

"Don't let it interfere with the team or your own game."

"Piyo. Like playing tennis could actually make me worse."

Again Yukimura laughed, but then his expression turned reflective, "You never know what will happen in the future."

Niou was never sure how to respond when the buchou said things like that. As it was, it was a little awkward to be around him ever since he got sick. It wasn't that Yukimura acted differently or anything, but it was hard to see someone who had always been so strong, now struggling. To see someone so young succumb to a disease of this magnitude. It was hard, and Niou was positive it was even harder for his friend.

A knock at the door interrupted their visit and a nurse entered. Their time had come to an end for the day. Turning around and heading for the door, Niou called out, "See you later, puri."

"Niou?"

He stopped and looked over his shoulder, "Nani?"

"She better be worth it."

"I'm just having fun and helping her." He left without another word. Once outside, he pulled out his phone and sent a text message. He would do anything he could to help her right now. Never again did he want to see Sakuno upset or hurt.


	8. Face Off at the Gate

**A/N: Oh Niou. I don't think he realizes what's happening, but it is fun to watch. As for Tezuka and Ryoma…I can't say for sure Niou is done with them. Enjoy!**

Chapter 8 – Face Off at the Gate

After tennis practice, Sakuno changed her clothes and then left the school, only to stop dead in her tracks right before the school gates. The very person she had been avoiding like the plague stood in front of her, and under her breath she muttered, "Tomoka." Why was she there? Why couldn't she take a hint? Part of her was starting to believe the goddess of luck truly had it out for her. Trying to skirt past her ex-friend, she was stopped when the other girl grabbed her arm. Jerking it from her grasp, Sakuno demanded, "Just leave me alone."

"I know what I did was wrong, but you weren't dating him and he wasn't interested!" Tomoka protested in her defense.

The last thing she wanted to do was to argue where others could watch or listen in, but then again, Sakuno was not quite ready to be alone with this Brutus who would stab her own friend in the back. To the brunette, it wasn't if Tomoka was or was not dating Ryoma, it was knowing Tomoka would go around her back and make a play for Ryoma when the commonly held belief by both girls at the time was that he was dating Sakuno…that was against the rules of friendship. In her eyes, Tomoka had purposely tried to seduce Ryoma away from her. Believing Ryoma and Sakuno were a couple, she still went to him and asked him out on a date. That was wrong, and the way it currently sounded - at least to her ears - her ex-friend didn't sound very apologetic. A brief thought, a snippet really, flashed through her mind momentarily, and she wondered what Niou would say and/or do to Tomoka if he learned her identity. Shaking her head, Sakuno didn't think she could turn the other girl in…even if part of her wanted to see her squirm – a very small part. Could it be? Was Niou already influencing her? "No, he wasn't. It was a misunderstanding. Don't make the same one," she warned.

"What is that supposed to mean? It's different with me!" Tomoka argued, her hands clenched in fists at her side.

Shaking her head sadly, Sakuno told her, "I've got to go. There is a tournament tomorrow and I promised Obaa-Chan I would prepare some snacks and drinks for everyone."

"You're just jealous!"

"No. Well, maybe I was before, but not anymore. It's not worth it." She was proud of herself. Just a few days ago she had run away from school, and today, she stood up for herself. And what she said was true: it wasn't worth it. Her feelings were still raw and she was still hurt, but something had changed and she owed it all to Niou. Over the past couple of days, she found her mind occupied less with thoughts of Ryoma and more with thoughts of a certain silverette. Did that mean her feelings were fickle? She didn't think so, but the trickster had showed her another side to herself. She may still be a bit scatterbrained and someone who could get lost in her own neighborhood, but there was so much more to her than that, and she deserved to have friends who treated her as a friend. She deserved to have a boyfriend who cherished her. Ryoma was not that guy, and as it stood now, Tomoka was not that friend.

"Fine. Does that mean we can be friends again?"

Sakuno tilted her head to the side before shaking it from side to side, "I don't trust you."

"Eh! But you're Sakuno! You always forgive and forget! What are you talking about? We've been friends since kindergarten!" Tomoka growled, feeling a little desperate. For years, she had been the one that was more put together, the one that boys noticed first because of her cuteness, and the one that was more outgoing and audacious; while Sakuno was more reserved, directionally challenged, could bake like no one else, and got better grades. She had always been a little jealous of her friend's talents, and therefore, when something good happened, she tended to rub it in, bragging to the point of exhaustion…and until now Sakuno had always rolled with the punches and allowed Tomoka to be Tomoka. When had that changed?

"Sorry," Sakuno muttered and tried stepping around the other girl again.

Reaching out her hand and grabbing her before she could leave a second time, the pig tailed girl snapped, "If this is some sort of plan to make me give up Ryoma-sama, I won't do it!"

"Is there a problem here?" Niou asked as he stepped into view. He had been waiting for Sakuno outside the school gates thereby sticking to the rules Yukimura had set for him. Technically, he wasn't on Seigaku's campus. And technically, he didn't think a guy should hit a girl, but that didn't mean he didn't want to smack that Tomoka girl for attacking Sakuno.

"Niou-kun," she breathed, a smile automatically appearing on Sakuno's face.

"Who are you?" Tomoka demanded, crossing her arms over her chest after releasing her adversary.

Narrowing his eyes, he smirked, "Niou Masaharu. Puri. And you are Osakada Tomoka."

"Niou! What are you doing here? You were told…" Tezuka had seen Sakuno walking towards the front gates and had a feeling something was about to happen since Inui had "kindly" informed him that Tomoka had been seen at the front gate, which meant that there would be an 86.3% chance she would engage Sakuno. He trusted Inui's figures and knew he had to hurry.

The trickster interrupted the Seigaku buchou, "I was told to stay away from Seigaku, and I'm not on school property, therefore, I'm away from Seigaku. Piyo!" Oh how he loved how Tezuka's stoic face turned to stone, and how he tightened his jaw. "Tezuka, you might break a tooth if you keep grinding your teeth like that. A very bad habit."

There were times when Tezuka wished he could be like Sanada and just torundorou everyone that pissed him off – Niou would be at the top of that list, surpassing Momo, Kaidoh, and several others. "What are you doing here?" He repeated.

"Relax. I only came to walk Sakuno home since I didn't have tennis practice today." Of course he also wanted to see if he could find this Tomoka person, and to his great luck, she had come to him…in a manner of speaking. After sending a text to Yanagi requesting information, he hopped on the train and came to Seigaku. Much to his delight, the Data Master had come through. A text with the information he sought had arrived just as he was mere feet from the front gate of the school. Between that and the conversation he had just overheard, he had all the information he needed about the situation.

"She doesn't need you to cause her any more trouble!"

"Puri. What are you, her father?"

"She is special to our team and…"

"Special? I'll agree with that, but if she is that special to you, she should have been and still be treated as such." How Niou wanted to cross the line, however, he was good and remained on his side of the gate.

Watching the back and forth banter like a tennis match, Tomoka frowned and asked, "You have Tezuka-buchou and this Niou fighting over you? And is that a Rikkai Dai uniform?"

Sakuno chose to ignore her and stepped between Niou and Tezuka, "Niou-kun, Tezuka-buchou has always been a good senpai. I already told you…"

He waved her off, "I know. I also know it was Echizen you were supposedly dating, and this girl, who was supposedly your best friend, tried to steal him from you. But what she probably doesn't realize is that he holds more romantic feelings for his racket than he does her or any other girl. Hell, he probably makes love to it on a daily basis!" He hadn't meant to say all that.

Gasping, Sakuno turned bright red. To have everything thrown back in her face like that by Niou of all people hurt and embarrassed her. "Ano, you're right," she said softly, her head falling to her chest. Not knowing what else to say, she ran. Her feet took her through the gates and down the street. She could hear Niou calling after her, but she ignored him and ran as fast as she could to get away from him, the others, and the school.

Before he could take off after her, Tezuka stopped him, "Don't. You've caused enough trouble."

"I shouldn't have…" Niou muttered.

"No, you shouldn't have," Tomoka chided putting her hands on her hips.

His glare fell on the girl with pigtails, "You're one to talk. Get a clue. You aren't friends anymore and she is done being abused by you. Who wants a friend who will go behind their back and try to steal their boyfriend? And something tells me this isn't the first time you've done something to her. You were all set for her to forgive you and to pick up where you left off. What kind of friend does that to another? Not a very good one, I'm sure."

She sucked in her breath and took a step backward. Looking behind her, she expected Tezuka to come to her aid, but he didn't, and neither did other Seigaku regulars lined up behind him. The only one missing from the lineup, her supposed boyfriend, Ryoma. If anything, they looked almost as murderous as Niou. "Excuse me," she mumbled and took off towards the school buildings. She didn't want to walk out of the school gate where Niou stood guard, and she couldn't stand there a moment longer.

"Fuji!" Tezuka quickly barked.

"Hai?" Fuji's smile widened as he stared at Niou imagining the many different ways he could be tortured.

"Go find her. She'll get lost again." If Tezuka allowed Fuji to remain there with Niou and Tomoka, a news report about two missing persons might appear on the morning news. Sending him after Sakuno, got him away from anyone he might want to kill and insured Sakuno had the ability to find her way home. Tezuka couldn't protect Tomoka or Niou forever, but it would allow them to live at least a few more hours. He waited until Fuji had left and he said, "Niou, leave her alone for now."

Kicking the wall, Niou cursed, "Damn!" Taking off in the opposite direction of Sakuno, he planned to loop around and start looking for her himself without the damn stoic buchou's knowledge. He had to find her.

It took Fuji about thirty minutes before he found her running down one street only to turn around and run in the opposite direction. She then stopped and started running in the direction she had just come. It couldn't be any more clearer to Fuji: Sakuno was indeed lost again and uncertain about which way to go. Catching up to her easily when she had spun around again, he said, "If you go to the next intersection and turn right, you'll be walking in the right direction. Saa. We're only about six blocks from your house."

She stopped instantly and dropped her bag with a loud clunk. Someone had found her, caught up to her...and she was too tired and out of breath to fight, "What are you doing here, Fuji-senpai?"

Still behind her, he couldn't see her face, but he had a feeling she had been crying, and for that reason alone, he found himself unable to tease her, "I came to make sure you got home safely. Tezuka was worried about you. We all are."

"Why?"

"Because you're special to the team and to us," he told her as he walked up to her and handed her a handkerchief. "Come on before Niou-kun finds us. I have a feeling he's searching for you as we speak."

"Why?"

"Saa. Intuition," he smiled widely. In fact, if he was right – and he felt like he was - Niou might actually be watching them at that very moment. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, Fuji pulled her close and whispered in her ear, "Let's get you home and if you would like, I'll tell you the best way to torture Tomoka."

"Eh?!"

Laughing, Fuji pulled her along, his smile turning more and more devious.

Down the block, behind a brick wall, Niou's fist made contact with the hard material. Good thing it was not his racket hand. His blacklist had been growing day by day since meeting Sakuno. Did this mean by the time he moved onto high school, every single current middle school boy would be his enemy?


	9. Walking Home

**A/N: Oh Tomoka. She just doesn't learn. I'm not sure yet how things will end for her, but I know that it won't be all roses for her. Enjoy the new chapter!**

Chapter 9 – Walking Home

"D-Did you hear something, Fuji-senpai?" Sakuno asked craning her neck around in an attempt to survey the space behind them.

Smiling, he answered, "Saa. Hear something? Not at all." Inwardly he was applauding because once again, he had been right, and something told him his little show sent Niou right over the edge and it was the silverette making the ruckus. It felt rewarding to deliver such a blow to someone whose purpose in life was to prank others, the cause trouble, and whose own ego seemed on course to rival Atobe's.

Fuji knew exactly who Niou Masaharu was, almost everyone in the middle school tennis circuit knew the Rikkai Dai regulars; and he also knew Niou was a bit of a trickster. The silverette loved to pull pranks on his teammates, his school, and anyone else that suited him. What Fuji could not understand, what exactly was Niou's interest in Sakuno? Was he trying to get close to Tezuka? The coach? There was no way to really tell, however, Fuji was almost certain his involvement was not completely chaste, and he was sure Niou was after something. But what?

"i-senpai? Fuji-senpai?" She called out to the older boy walking beside her. On his face was an almost maniacal smile, one Sakuno could not remember seeing before, and one that made her almost afraid. She knew he could be a touch sadistic…or at least that is what the others said about him, but to her, he had always been nice and a perfect gentleman.

"Hmm?"

"Eto…Ano, i-i-if you tell me how to g-get home, I'm sure I could do it on my own," she rushed unsure of why she suddenly felt so nervous.

"Saa. Are you sure?"

Was she? No, not at all. She was probably the most directionally challenged person on the planet, but she also did not want him to feel like he had to babysit her. And maybe, just a small sliver of possibility, she hoped that Niou would be waiting for her at the house or along the way, and if Fuji was with her when she found him, no good could come of it. Of that, she was certain. "H-Hai!"

"I think I better make sure you get home. What if you get lost again? Tezuka would not be happy of that happened."

"Nande?"

"Hmm?"

"Nande? Tezuka-buchou is…"

Snickering, Fuji said, "Because you're special to the team, and I think your grandmother would kill him if you got lost when he sent me to look after you. Then she might kill me, and Tezuka would make me run extra laps."

Sakuno turned red with embarrassment and started to wave her arms around, "G-Gomen! Gomen, Fuji-senpai! P-P-Please walk me to my house." Her body bent in half in a low bow.

His smile increased and he nodded, "Saa, all right. Ano. Sakuno-Chan, was there a reason you were trying to get rid of me?"

Her face turned redder, "No!"

In his mind, she answered him too quickly. Interesting. Could it be that she was hoping to run into Niou? Was that even possible since it was Niou's fault she had run away from school less than an hour ago? "Sakuno-Chan, how did you meet Niou-kun?"

Whenever he added the –Chan, she always felt Fuji was after something…and so far she had been right. "Ano…ano…I met him the other day when I took a break from school."

"Not before?"

"No."

"Is he your boyfriend?" He took great pleasure in seeing her turn redder than he had ever seen before.

"NO!" Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm down, "Fuji-senpai, he is just a friend. He helped me when I needed it."

"Souka." Even though she said Niou was just a friend, there was a small catch in her voice that told him, it was more than simple friends; but then again, maybe she didn't realize it herself. He had personally known Niou since his first year in middle school and the silverette never did anything he didn't want to do; therefore, Sakuno had to be extra special if he came all the way to Tokyo just to walk her home. It wasn't exactly a short jaunt or just down the road for him. "What about today?"

"T-T-Today?"

"What happened?"

Her head dipped so far that her chin rested on her chest, "What do you mean?"

Fuji wanted to seek retribution on behalf of Sakuno. Her voice sounded small and meek, and although she normally sounded shy and embarrassed, today she sounded as if she had lost her best friends…which she had. Her best friend, and her supposed boyfriend. Ryoma and Tomoka needed to learn their lessons, and maybe Niou as well because he had made Sakuno cry too. "Inui saw you walking towards the front gate and Tezuka rushed after you, we ran after him. What happened?"

Would her torment never end? She could decide to say nothing, but then again, Fuji was a person who tended to get what he wanted, thus sometimes it was easier just to talk, "I went to the gate and Tomoka was there. I didn't want to talk to her and when she cornered me, Niou-kun appeared."

Niou had tried to save Sakuno? This was getting even more intriguing, "And?"

"H-H-He said what he said and I left."

"What about Echizen?" He, like the other regulars, were able to find out the complete story from Inui – who always knew everything about everyone… the word stalker comes to mind – however, he wanted to hear it from her as well. Maybe – unlikely though – Inui was wrong.

"Eh?!" Her eyes widened and she started to look for a means of escape.

"Souka."

"Eh?"

"What happened when you left school the other day?"

"Ano…eto…" She tried to think of a way to explain without making her look like a complete ditz, but there was no help for it, "I got lost and went to a park where Niou-kun was sleeping. He said school was cancelled for Rikkai Dai."

"I'm sure he had something to do with it," Fuji muttered.

"Eh?"

"Nothing. What else?"

"He bought me lunch and we played tennis and then he walked me back to school."

"Saa. Souka." Stopping, he pointed, "We're here. Go inside and wait on your Obaa-Chan. I doubt Tomoka will appear, but if she does, just tell her I'm waiting for her at school."

"Nani?"

"Trust me. She'll know what it means."

Did this mean that Fuji-senpai liked Tomoka? Or was it something else? How was something like that supposed to protect her from her ex-best friend? "Ano…"

"Trust me," he chuckled, his hand lightly touching one of her braids before lifting it to his lips and kissing it…just in case Niou was still following and/or watching, or maybe just because he wanted to. Sakuno was the cute cheerleader of the Seigaku boys' team after all. "She won't bother you again."

"H-Hai!" Her face, which had started to lose some of her blush, was once again on fire.

Pushing her towards her front door, he waited until she disappeared behind the slab of wood and then walked down the block in the direction they had come from. He paused in front of an ally and peered down the narrow space before saying loudly, "I may have to walk Sakuno home from now on. Such a sweet girl, and her lips are so soft." The sound of a cat screeching and a crash a second later gave him such a thrill and tapped into his pleasure sensors.

Niou couldn't help but hear what Fuji had said, the tensai spoke loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear him. When the words reached him, he had been shocked and had stepped backwards right onto a cat's tail. The animal scream stunned him and he jumped, tripped, and landed in a pile of boxes.

Never before had someone else gotten the better of him, at least not since he was in diapers. How the hell had this happened? He was taking the train to see a girl he had known less than a week, destroying her school just to make her smile, and now he was falling all over himself? This wasn't him! He was the trickster of Rikkai Dai, he could mimic anyone on the tennis court – and occasionally he would use his skills off the court – and he was always calm, cool, and collected. He didn't trip over cats or fall into garbage piles or get jealous of Fuji Syusuke!

Could he have been wrong? Niou knew his information about the situation was correct because it came directly from Yagani, and that guy always seemed to know everything about everyone, which tended to be kind of scary at times, but he wouldn't let the data master know that. So if Sakuno was mourning the loss of Echizen Ryoma, what did Fuji have to do with anything? Did he have feelings for the first year girl like Tezuka did? And even if the stoic buchou of Seigaku were to deny it, Niou was (as Yanagi would say) 99.89% sure feelings existed. Did she have feelings for them? Tezuka did say she was special. Why? His head was spinning with all the questions. Yet another thing that was not like him!

"Ugh!" He growled and leaned back against the wall after he righted himself, his breathing coming out hard and fast. For the first time in his life, he felt like the pawn in a game instead of the game master, and he didn't like it one bit. Part of him wanted to go and see Sakuno, and another part told him to leave her alone because it was too much drama…hell with the whole Seigaku team on her side, that was just too much drama.

He was saved from having to make a decision when his cell phone started ringing. "Sanada, I'm not in the mood…"

"Torundorou! Get back here now! A girl is looking for you and interrupting practice, and I hear you went back to Seigaku when you were told…!" Sanada yelled into the phone.

In order to preserve his hearing, Niou held the phone away from his ear intent to just stand there like that until his fukubuchou was done yelling, but this last thing caught his attention, "What do you mean girl? And technically I stayed off school property so you can't yell at me for that. Puri." It couldn't be Sakuno because Fuji just dropped her off and there is not a bullet train that goes from here to Rikkai Dai. So, who was looking for him?

"Are you arguing with me?"

"Me? Now why would I do that? Piyo," Niou snickered. Oh how he loved to piss off his fukubuchou. This was normal…and right now he needed normal. "Before you burst a blood vessel, I'm on my way." Stepping out of the ally, he looked down the street towards Sakuno's house, and started walking in the opposite direction. After seeing her upset today, he needed to take a step back – if only for a moment.

After all, there was always tomorrow. Tomorrow was the tournament and Seigaku would be there, which meant their cheerleader would be there…and it definitely was not on Seigaku school grounds. Fair game!

 _ **At Rikkai Dai...**_

Sanada believed that a man should never hit a woman, however, his conviction was in the process of being significantly tried and tested. He wanted to torundorou this girl as much as he sometimes did the people on his tennis team. And for her to cause a ruckus…Where the hell was Niou?


	10. Lovers?

**A/N: Poor Niou. He is being played by Fuji and he doesn't even realize it yet. And now someone is looking for him…Enjoy the new chapter!**

 **PS… for those, like me, who are participating in NaNoWriMo this month – GOOD LUCK!**

Chapter 10 – Lovers?

It took him almost an hour to get back to Rikkai Dai, but when he finally managed to enter the hallowed gates of the tennis courts, Niou wanted to turn around and go back home. Out of everyone it could have possibly been, why did it have to be her? "What are you doing here?" He demanded to know.

"Masaharu-kun!" A girl with jet black hair spun around and found the person she had been waiting for. She completely forgot about the game she was playing with a couple of the non-regulars and ran towards the silverette. "Where were you? I've been waiting and I came here especially to see you…lover." Her voice turned sultry and she flung her arms around him, hugging the very life out of him.

"Stop that!" He tried to push her away.

"You don't love me anymore?" She pouted.

"What are you doing here?" Niou could hear the whispers around him, everyone curious as to who this girl was and her relation to their trickster.

"Don't be like that. I came here to visit you, but when I got here I found out that you weren't required to be at practice today. Your fukubuchou was nice enough to call you and here you are. Aren't you happy to see me? It's been almost a year."

"Am I supposed to say yes?"

"Mou, Masaharu-kun! I love you and we are going to be spending the rest of our lives together!"

"Stop with the act!"

She stopped him with a finger over his lips, "Come with me, Masaharu-kun. We have things to talk about that concern the future." Without allowing him to explain, she grabbed his arm and proceeded to drag him away.

His day was going from bad to worse, and now his teammates probably thought he was having some sort of affair with this girl…something that was as far from the truth as one could possibly get. Pulling his arm free, he snapped, "What are you doing here Nee-san? When did you get back from university?" He thought about it for a moment and asked, "Aren't you in the middle of your term?" It wasn't that he wasn't happy to see his sister, he was. He loved her and when she had decided to go to a university in Kyoto, he had missed her. Before she had left, they used to have fun pranking other people together and that included their own parents. She is the very person who taught him how to be a first rate trickster, which is probably why she didn't want his team to know the truth about who she was for a while. She had been gone for more than two years and was currently in her third year at university, and since his teammates didn't know much about him or his home life, or even where he lived, they had no clue this girl was his sister and not some older lover.

"I passed my midterms and am on a small break, so I decided to come home and see my favorite otouto. Besides, I talked to one of my former senpai and she said that you were at a crossroads."

"I don't know any of your senpai!"

"She saw it in the cards."

"The cards?" Niou deadpanned. Even by his standards, this conversation was getting weirder and weirder.

"So who is she?"

"She?"

"The girl!"

His eyes cut downward, "I don't know what you are talking about." How did she know about Sakuno?

"You can lie to kaa-san, tou-san, and anyone else, but you have never been able to lie to me. So who is she?"

"I really don't know what you're talking about. I helped a girl earlier this week because she was lost and I was bored, but other than that, the only girls I deal with are in school and they are so annoying, I ignore them most of the time…unless I'm pranking them."

She studied him for a moment and knew he was hiding something, and her curiosity was sufficiently piqued; however, she also knew that her little brother would rather have his teeth pulled without Novocain rather than talk. That was all right though because she didn't mind getting her hands dirty. "Souka. Well then, I guess my senpai was wrong."

Niou didn't trust is sister. Normally, she would not give up so easily. This was not like her, which meant, he needed to be on guard in order to protect himself and Sakuno. "Nee-san, I'm serious."

"And I said I believed you," she smiled deviously.

That grin made him want to crawl under his bed and never come out. In so many ways, it mirrored ones he had seen on Yukimura and Fuji. Add to that her trickster ways, and she might actually be more dangerous than both of the sadists combined. Plastering on his own nymph-like smile, he asked, "Do tou-san and kaa-san know that your home?"

"Not yet, but they will when we go home together."

"Who says I'm going home right now? Tennis practice hasn't finished yet."

"It was my understanding that your presence was not needed today."

"I have a tournament tomorrow."

Clasping her hands together, she gushed, "That's perfect! I can meet her then!"

A chill ran up his spine. "Her? Her who?"

"Masaharu…"

"Naoko…" Her name really did not suit her. Docile child? In who's dream?

Narrowing her eyes, she took a step forward and almost laughed when he started to take a step back before stopping himself. Her little brother was growing up and learning to stand his ground. She was proud of him, but that didn't mean she wouldn't get what she wanted…she always did. "Let's go. I'm sure your friends are dying to know what is really going on and I think we should keep them guessing. Don't you?" Linking her arm with his, she pulled him along and she couldn't wait to see what happened next.

Niou could only follow along for now, but he would not let her win. He had spent time perfecting his trickster ways away from her, and she would not get the upper hand this time. Soon she would find out that her brother wasn't the same little kid she left behind. And somewhere in the middle of his battle with his sister, he needed to get Sakuno alone so that he could apologize. This was either going to be fun, or be the death of him.

 ** _Back at Rikkai Dai…_**

"Ne, Yanagi, do you know who that girl was? Do you really think it was Niou's girlfriend?" Marui asked. Like the others, he had been left confused by the whole interaction. Niou had looked like he wanted to kill her, but she had seemed so intimate with the trickster.

"23.7% chance that she is his girlfriend. 52.45% chance she is a relative."

"That doesn't equal 100%. Are you slipping?"

"The rest is unknown relation."

"How do you not know?"

"Niou-kun is very good at keeping his secrets."

Yagyuu stepped forward, "Marui-kun, before you ask another question, think about the person we are discussing."

"Everyone go home for today! We will meet here at 8am so that we can go to the tournament together. No one is to be late!" Sanada ordered, tired of seeing everyone speculate about the girl; although, even he had to admit that he was curious himself…and he still had the urge to torundorou her. It matched the urgency he normally felt with Niou.

The team scattered not wanting to be on the other end of one of Sanada's famous slaps. They could find out more later, for now, they would let it rest for the night.

 ** _Sakuno's house…_**

The sky was starting to get dark and she never heard from Niou. And she shouldn't want to after what he did to her earlier. She had been so embarrassed, but at the same time, she wanted to see him, wanted to forgive him. If he hadn't rescued her the other day, she didn't know where she would be today…and she didn't mean helping her find her way back to school. Would she see him tomorrow at the tournament? Was she ready to see Ryoma? She wasn't sure what the answer was to either question.

There was something about Niou that made her smile, and she always looked forward to the next time they would be able to see each other again. With Ryoma she always felt nervous and shy, and while she still felt some of that with Niou, she also felt like she could be herself…even if herself was directionally challenged and easily addled. He never made fun of the way she played tennis, never told her to cut her hair, and never made her feel like she didn't belong. It was so very different from Ryoma. Maybe that should have been her first clue that the relationship with the tennis ace was wrong – not that it ever existed except in her own head.

But what did she feel for Niou? She had known him a matter of days, and yet, she felt a connection with him. Maybe it was just as friends, or maybe more, she just wasn't sure, however, she had the feeling she liked him much more than she should.

 ** _Elsewhere…_**

After the horrible afternoon she had, Tomoka wanted nothing more than to hear a reassuring word or two from her boyfriend; however, what she got was the shock of a lifetime. "Ryoma-sama, Sakuno and the others were mean to me, and I just…"

"Why are you calling me about this?"

"Why? Because we're dating."

"When?"

"When what?"

"When did we start dating?"

"You agreed to go to the movies with me."

"Oh. That was a movie I wanted to see and I couldn't get tickets."

"Eh?"

"I don't have time to date anyone. I need to focus on my tennis." After a pause, he said, "Dinner is ready. Bye."

Tomoka heard the click of the disconnected call and sat there in stunned silence listening to the beeping on the other end. Sakuno had been right about Ryoma? It couldn't be. Her heart was breaking as she realized not only did she lose her supposed boyfriend, she had also lost her best friend. She felt utterly alone.


	11. Line of Suitors

**A/N: I apologize that it's taken so long to update this story. I think NaNoWriMo got the better of me and I only updated a few things last month. Good news, I hit the 50,000 word goal for the month and have a good chunk of my second novel done…AND…I'm back to updating my fanfiction as regularly as possible. This month is a little crazy with the holidays, but I promise to update as much as possible. If I were to do a Christmas story for PoT, who should the pairing be? You vote to decide. It can be anyone, and I can include multiple pairings (Alpha, Perfect, Golden, Silver, Adorable, Royal…etc). You tell me what pairings to include and who – if anyone – should be paired with Sakuno and I will write it around Christmas time. The results will be revealed when the story is released. Highest votes win. Just put your requests in a review; and I accept guest reviews, so anyone can vote.**

 **Are any of you curious about who Niou's sister's senpai is? Or do you have an idea of who it can be? Did I give enough hints in the previous chapter? Enjoy the new one!**

Chapter 11 – A Line of Suitors

Sigh. It seemed that ever since the previous night Sakuno had been doing a lot of that. Cooking for today…sigh. Finishing up some homework so she would have time for the tournament and Niou over the weekend…sigh. Getting ready for bed…sigh. She even woke up sighing, which caused her grandmother to give her several concerned glances, "Are you all right?"

"Fine! Eto…I'm okay. Don't worry obaa-chan," Sakuno gave her guardian a forced smile.

Instead of listening to her granddaughter, Sumire felt her forehead in order to make sure there wasn't a fever. None was found. Did his possibly have something to do with all of the drama going around the school or what happened at the gate the previous day? It was amazing how fast word reached her when it was her granddaughter or tennis team involved. "Do you need to stay home today?" She asked curiously waiting to see what the young girl would say.

Falling into her grandmother's trap, she quickly declared, "No! I'm fine. I want to go and watch the tournament."

"To watch the tournament or to talk to that boy from Rikkai Dai?" A knowing smile appeared on Sumire's face. She remembered what it was like to be young, however, she wasn't sure she could trust someone dubbed the trickster of Rikkai Dai. But then again, she found out most, if not all, of what happened between Sakuno and Ryoma, and Niou was helping keep a smile on her granddaughter's face. That counted for something in her book. Plus the girl's tennis coach had already commented on how much Sakuno's tennis had improved this week. Her granddaughter had said she had been given some pointers from Niou and it appeared whatever that boy had done to help, had worked.

"Eh? T-T-To watch the tournament!" Her face was practically glowing and looked like a bright red beacon.

She would let it go for now, but that did not mean Sumire would not watch everything with a sharp discerning eye, "I don't want you walking off on your own. You need to stay close because you are still not completely off the hook from skipping school."

"Hai, obaa-chan!" Mentally, Sakuno crossed her fingers that Niou would come to find her. She had run away the day before and wanted to talk to him. It was weird. The night before she had been disappointed when he never showed up out of the blue – not that she blamed him because she had been the one to be hurt and runaway – and yet, when it had been Ryoma in the past, she was always satisfied with what she could get…like a dog satisfied with scraps. She deserved better than that! And now that she had taken a step back and really looked at everything that had happened, it was glaringly obvious that she and Ryoma were never together in the first place. Why couldn't she have seen that before she made a fool of herself? In fact, the reason she ran away was because she was embarrassed more than she was heartbroken. She knew that now, and even today, almost a week after everything happened, she still couldn't say that she was truly heartbroken. It stung a little, but she didn't feel like wallowing in self-pity any longer. So much had changed, and she liked to believe that she had grown and matured – even a little bit – through this whole experience.

Gathering up the food items and drinks she had prepared, Sakuno left with her grandmother. She really would prefer not to get lost on the way because Niou very well could be waiting on her. Was it wrong to be so excited about that? She didn't think so…that is if the butterflies didn't kill her first. Her stomach felt like it was doing the cha-cha.

 ** _Niou's house…_**

"Masaharu, don't leave without me! I'm coming to your tournament!" Naoko shouted from her room. She could hear her brother getting ready to leave and wanted to be sure that he allowed – she was actually coming whether he liked it or not – he allowed her to accompany him.

Now was the time to make a break for it if he wanted to…the word survive came to mind first and he decided it wasn't too far off the mark. As it was, he had a feeling he was going to be facing an inquisition the moment he got to school to meet the others. Grabbing his tennis bag, he ran down the stairs, grabbed his shoes from the shoe rack by the front door, and flew out the door without putting them on. Did he make it? He prayed to all the kami in the universe that he had. Out of the people who intimidated him, his sister ranked number one. He felt sorry for any future boyfriend and husband she might have.

Two blocks from his house, he finally stopped running and ducked into an alley to put on his shoes. Any rocks or debris he might have trampled, he didn't feel it because he was focused on getting away. Pain? Who cared? Cuts? Thankfully he didn't have any, but they would have been worth it if it meant he had escaped.

Tying his shoe, he slowly got up and decided it was best to check and make sure the coast was clear. He looked right…nothing. He looked left, because there was always the off chance she could have passed him and was headed in the direction he needed to go…and he almost screamed. Standing there filing a nail and appearing utterly board was the very person he was trying to ditch, "Nee-san! What are you…?"

She held up a well-manicured hand and smiled, the kind of smile that if Yukimura or Fuji were to use would mean death was on the horizon, but surely she wouldn't kill her own brother. Right? "I told you to wait for me because I wanted to see you play today. It's been a while since I've been able to watch my favorite otouto play, and according to my senpai, something big is going to happen today!"

And there it was again. Who was this senpai that seemed to making all of these wild – yet true – predictions? Well, he wasn't sure about the something big, but she was right about a girl…only Sakuno wasn't just any girl, and he refused to allow his team or his sister to interfere or possibly corrupt whatever this was. Knowing them, they would tell stories and she would run for the hills, which was the last thing he wanted to happen. Decision made. If needed, he would ignore and hide from Sakuno during the tournament so that no one saw them together. Mean? Possibly, but he had to do what he had to do in order to keep her to himself…at least until he knew exactly what lay between them. "You know you have another younger brother… right? Puri," he crossed his arms over his chest and tried to appear somewhat defiant.

"Come on or you'll be late!" His sister started to pull him towards the school laughing at his accusation.

His eyes darted to the sky to see if there were any crows flying overhead. Nope. It was clear and empty except for a lone plane flying high into the sky, and yet, he still had a sense of doom settle into his bones.

And then they arrived at the school courts. All eyes turned towards him and the older sister that was hanging on his arm as if it was a lifeline. He could see the questions in their eyes, and he said nothing because his sister was right…it would be fun to play with them a little. It wasn't like he hadn't pull pranks on them before. This was just standard operating procedure for someone part of the Niou family.

"So…so did you two work everything out?" Marui hesitantly asked. He desperately wanted to know who that girl was. Unlike Yanagi, he wasn't so sure that she was a relative. Silver hair to black hair. Blue eyes to green eyes. The only thing they had in common was their facial shape. Of course with as much makeup as she was wearing, it was hard to see if the bump near her lip was a beauty mark or a pimple.

"Puri. Hai! We will be together and love each other until one of us dies and even beyond the grave," he smirked.

The redhead turned to the data tennis player and said in an accusatory tone, "I told you!"

"You love your family forever if you are on good terms. That does not change my percentages," Yanagi stated. "Facial analysis says that they are 82.3% family."

"That's different from yesterday."

"I was not able to finish the facial calculations until last night."

Sanada felt as if he was close to losing it and yelled, "Torundorou! We are not hear to talk about Niou's relationship with a girl! We are here to go to a tennis tournament! Defeat is not an option! We will be victorious!"

"Hai! Go Rikkai Dai!" The other tennis players shouted together.

 ** _Tennis tournament…_**

Today was an invitational meet and was being used by many schools to prepare for other upcoming tournaments leading to the Nationals – everyone's dream. Rikkai Dai had already won and wanted to remain on top; and Seigaku wanted to rise to the top and prove that they were once again a powerhouse. The two schools would be rivals until the end of the season…and maybe they were competing in more than just tennis. Maybe they were also rivals in love?

Sakuno's head whipped from side to side and she was almost left behind on more than one occasion. After arriving, she barely acknowledged Ryoma and immediately started to look for a mop of silver hair. Her attention so focused, she tripped over her own feet and Tezuka had to catch her.

"Ryuzaki-san, pay attention," Tezuka chastised.

"H-Hai. Gomen, buchou!" Her face was bright red as she took a step backwards and bumped into another person. Turning around, she was already bowing and apologizing, "Gomen!"

Chuckling, Fuji patted her head and rested his hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry. No one was hurt. Just be careful. We wouldn't want you to get lost or injured." In the distance, he noticed the unmistakable yellow jerseys. Rikkai Dai had arrived and if he wasn't mistaken, Niou was looking right at him. Leaning in closely, he whispered, "Make sure you stay close."

She had tried to listen to him and take his advice, however, her attention was focused on finding the person she wanted to see and never found. When she lagged behind a fourth time, Tezuka and Fuji made sure to stick close to her so that she would not get lost. The last thing they wanted was for the Rikkai Dai prankster to get her in even more trouble. And when she was chastised again for lagging behind fifth time, she stopped looking around and began to pay attention to her surroundings. The last thing she wanted was for Tezuka and Fuji to be late to the courts all because of her ineptitude.

Where was he though? He was supposed to be here today, and she even made him a special batch of cookies to give to him, but if she didn't see him, how was she supposed to confirm their…gulp…date…for tomorrow?

Arriving at the tennis courts, Sakuno believed it was safe to look around for Niou, but that only led to more problems. If she locked eyes with someone, she would blush and then drop her gaze quickly. This happened on more than one occasion and the guys whose gaze she captured believed she was shy and flirting.

When the first guy appeared, Sumire was able to get rid of him fairly easily. The second, Momo and Kaidoh dealt with. The third, Tezuka only sent a glare and the guy ran away. The fourth, Arai and a couple other second years got rid of him when they dumped a trash bin over him. The fifth…well by this time, Ryoma commented, "These guys are stupid and have no tennis talent. If they had any skills, they would be more focused on the upcoming tennis match!" After that, the non-regulars huddled around Sakuno so that no one could approach her and the only thing she could see was either them or the tennis court. No longer could she search for Niou.

The human shield kept almost everyone at bay except one man. He believed he was better than everyone else and had noticed the shorter girl with twin braids earlier. When the members of the Seigaku team crowded around her, he thought it was vastly entertaining; and although the wall may work on others, he knew it wouldn't work on him. With a snap of his fingers, he declared, "Come Kabaji, Ore-sama has to meet his destiny."

Atobe hadn't been the only one watching what was happening. At a nearby tennis court, Niou had seen the line of suitors and it irritated him. No, more than that…it pissed him off and he wanted to do something to each and every one of those guys that dare approach her. He was already agitated from when he watched Fuji manhandling her…and now this?

Seeing a Hyotei player making his move towards the Seigaku wall, Niou couldn't take it any longer and started to make his way towards Sakuno – even with his fukubuchou yelling at him not to leave. He just didn't care any longer and had to put a stop to the non-stop stream of guys. What did she think she was doing?

Naoko watched her brother closely and noticed his attention was drawn to another court in the short distance. Could it be the girl was over there? She started to follow him and then she saw someone she had not been expecting to see. "Senpai, I didn't realize you would be here today," she called out.

Smiling widely, an older woman answered, "I came to watch my brother play for Seigaku. Did you find the girl?"

"No, but I have a feeling, I'm about to," she snickered and looked off in the distance just in time to see her brother cut off another student. "I think things are about to get interesting. What do you think?"

"I did say something big would happen," the senpai giggled and together with her friend and former kohai, they walked towards the commotion.


	12. Intentions

**A/N: I know it has been a while for this story, but I took some time off for the holidays and then was hit was a huge case of writer's block. Not only for this story, but I have been struggling with almost all of my writing. I think I'm over the hump now though. Fingers crossed. Enjoy the new chapter!**

Chapter 12 – Intentions

It was like a sick prank was unfolding in front of Niou – one he had not conjured, planned, or had any part of. A horror movie if you will, and although he raced to Sakuno's side, he could not stop the Hyotei player from reaching her first.

Atobe Keigo. Everyone knew who he was, of course that was mostly because he believed everyone needed to know who he was. And considering the fact they had played Hyotei during a practice match because Jiro was in love with Marui or something, Niou did not have to question whose eye Sakuno had caught. As much as Niou wanted to stop it, Atobe had been positioned close to the Seigaku court and was infinitely closer than the silver haired trickster.

Running faster than he ever had before, he yelled at people to get out of his way while his team yelled at him to return to their own court. If they only knew how impossible that feat actually was. The moment he saw guys attempting to garner Sakuno's attention, the flames of jealousy had been lit, and when Atobe Keigo started to approach her, he could no more stop his actions than the world could stop spinning.

But no matter how fast he move, how much he jumped over people and objects, he could not reach her first. Atobe was there while he was still more than a court length away, and he Niou could only pray that the Seigaku team members would keep the purple headed, pompous, tennis player away from Sakuno. First Tezuka, then Fuji, and now Atobe. Was she really worth it? Seeing Atobe tapping on the shoulder of someone wearing a blue jacket, Niou decided she definitely was and he would be damned if he let Atobe have her.

Decision made, he refused to stop until he pulled her away from him and any other guy who tried to steal her from him.

It seemed as Atobe moved forward, the crowd split in front of him bringing him closer to this girl with twin braids that intrigued him so. She looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite place her. Seeing how she was wearing the Seigaku uniform and was currently surrounded by a fortress made up of Seigaku tennis team members, he assumed – a safe bet really – that she went to the rival school.

He expected the moment he arrived that the wall surrounding her would disappear, much like the crowd had parted like the Red Sea, but that isn't what happened and instead he had to actually announced his arrival. Tapping on the shoulder of one of the teens surrounding the girl, he stated, "Ahn. You are blocking Ore-sama's way."

Whipping his head around, a glare firmly set on his face, Arai snapped, "So? Go away."

"You dare talk to Ore-sama that way? Don't you realize who Ore-sama is?"

"It's not a matter of knowing who you are or not, it is that I don't care."

Never before had he been so insulted! Well, that isn't exactly true since Shishido on his team constantly mocks him, but that isn't the point! The point is, everyone should bow down to him! No, that wasn't it either. The point is, whoever this person is that refuses to move should bow down to him and disappear from his sight!

Suddenly a smile appeared on Atobe's face and he chuckled. There was more than one way to skin a cat. Snapping his fingers, he said only one word, "Kabaji."

"Usu," came the deep voiced reply. Kabaji walked around his friend and team captain, picked up the pest who dared denied Atobe, thrusting him into the air as if he weighed no more than a small sack of flour, and set him down about five feet away.

Arai never saw it coming. One minute he was standing guard, brushing off an irritating teen, and then next he was flying through the air and landing a short distance away. The only good thing he could say about the experience was that it was a soft landing and he hadn't been hurled through the air. Still, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" How dare someone treat him like this! Red marks appeared around his head as he bit down hard on his thumb nail.

Atobe could now see the girl he sought, but before he could reach her, the ranks closed in and he heard someone speaking from his right, "Atobe-san, so nice of you to come and support Seigaku." Fuji's smile had grown and it made almost everyone around him fear that death was lurking on their doorstep.

"Fuji, Ore-sama is not here for you or Seigaku," Atobe quickly replied.

"Then leave," Tezuka snapped. How was it possible that in a short period of time his team has had to fight of players from other teams, keep track of a scatterbrained girl, and still prepare for the tournament? And now Atobe had muscled his way in, this was too much. And everything centered around Sakuno.

"Ahn, Tezuka. Have you come to wish Ore-sama good luck?"

"You are the one who came to Seigaku's courts, not the other way around. You are also the one causing a scene."

"Ore-sama is doing…"

"Stop!" Niou interrupted the two buchous.

Sakuno recognized that voice and peered through a small crack in her wall of men, "Niou-kun." Her heartbeat quickened and a smile appeared on her face. After searching all morning for him, here he was.

"You dare interrupt Ore-sama?" Atobe glared.

"I dare do whatever the hell I want to. Puri," Niou's cocky retort included a smirk and his arms crossed over his chest.

Waving him off as if Niou was of no consequence, Atobe addressed the Seigaku buchou once again, "Ore-sama has decided to award this girl with his attention."

Fuji stepped in front of the wall, "I don't think you're worthy of our cheerleader. Besides, I don't think she wants someone…like you. However, if you wish to pursue this further, I'm sure you and I can talk in private."

The Seigaku team groaned and took a step backwards away from Fuji causing Sakuno to fall backwards, and she would have hit the ground if someone had not been there to catch her. Looking up, her smile grew, "Arigato Niou-kun."

"I knew there was a girl!" Naoko shouted.

"Aren't you jealous?" Marui questioned her. After Niou had taken off, the team had decided to follow.

Things were getting out of hand quickly and Atobe still had not yet had the opportunity to talk to the girl. Unaffected by Fuji's threat, he addressed the other buchou again, "Tezuka, Ore-sama is here because she called out to Ore-sama with her eyes."

"EH?" Momo shouted and the others joined in his confusion. Multitudes of men believed the same thing since Seigaku's arrival, so it couldn't possibly be true.

"Puri. He's so full of himself, he thinks everyone should worship him," Niou barked.

"Niou! Torundorou!" Sanada bellowed and tried to grab his silver haired tennis player, however, the other teen was too quick and moved out of the way before he could be touched. Unfortunately for one of second year players on Seigaku's team, he got the slap intended for Niou sending him flying to the ground.

"Puri!" Niou snickered and moved several steps back, Sakuno's hand held firmly in his.

"What is he doing? That princess belongs to Ore-sama!" Atobe announced.

Tezuka's glare was so fierce and cold, an arctic breeze could be felt throughout the tennis park. "Ryuzaki-san is not anyone's property. It is time to get warmed up and ready for the competition. Don't let your guard down. Atobe, Sanada, it is time for you to go," he snarled. His dangerous stare turned and landed on Niou, "Go back with your team. You can talk to her later…if you are worthy."

This ruffled Niou's feathers. How dare he?! Worthy? Niou was more worthy than he, Fuji, or Atobe…and he would prove it by winning all of his matches today. And besides, he was the one that had a date with her tomorrow. Leaning down, he whispered, "If I don't see you later, I'll pick you up at your house at 10:00am. Puri."

"H-Hai!" Sakuno nodded, her face turning redder than a tomato.

"Ahn, what's this? Tezuka, you would allow riff raff near her but not Ore-sama?" Atobe demanded to know, but after hearing what his rival called her, he now knew why she looked familiar. She was the granddaughter to the devil coach from Seigaku. He cast his gaze upon Sakuno and smiled, "Ore-sama will help you to forget him. You will go out with Ore-sama tonight to celebrate our victory."

Fuji took a menacing step forward and Tezuka snapped, "Fuji!" His friend stopped in his tracks and did not take another step towards the other buchou. First he addressed his team, "On the courts and practicing!" His team scrambled, and when he was satisfied with that, he told Atobe, "She has plans tonight."

Not one to accept defeat, Atobe once again addressed the girl, "Ore-sama and you will go out tonight."

"A-Ano…I…L-Like buchou said, I have plans," Sakuno stammered. She really didn't, but it was a good excuse and she was currently grounded, so it may as well have been the truth.

"What is going on here?" Sumire demanded. She had gone to speak to another coach and when she returned found a crowd gathered around her team. Standing back, she listened to the exchange for a couple of minutes before she said anything.

"Obaa-chan…eto…" Sakuno began.

"Atobe-kun, Sanada-kun, I believe you have your own games to play. Leave," the coach ordered her tone of voice practically daring them to argue with her. Had bringing her granddaughter been that much of a problem? Sakuno had come to competitions countless times before without incident. As Atobe walked past her, she said, "My granddaughter has plans tonight and for the foreseeable future." While the purple headed boy had great talent as a tennis player, the way he demanded Sakuno go out with him tonight did not sit well with her.

"Ore-sama will see about that. Come Kabaji!" Atobe responded and walked off.

Niou was about to leave Sakuno's side when his sister jumped on him – literally jumped on his back like she was about to be given a piggyback ride, "You're the girl!"

"Eh?" Sakuno jumped a little frightened of this girl.

"Nee-san, what are you doing here?" Fuji asked his older sister when he noticed her standing close by.

"I came to watch you play," Yumiko grinned. "Naoko, this is my otouto, Syusuke. Naoko is my kohai from high school."

Patting his head, Naoko snickered, "And this is the love of my life, Masaharu."

"LOVE?" Several members of the Rikkai Dai team gasped.

Sanada felt as if he was losing control over his team and bellowed, "Torundorou!" He slapped Marui on the back of the head and then shouted, "Everyone back to our courts!"

Niou looked down at Sakuno to explain and noticed the bewildered and hurt expression on her face, "It's not like that! Nee-san, you need to explain! Puri!" His other team members were gone and he had to follow, but he wanted to be sure that Sakuno understood. The others, he didn't care what they thought of him or his relationship with Naoko, however, this girl with the twin braids was different.

"But it's true Masaharu. As my favorite otouto, you are the love of my life," Naoko pouted and slid off her brother's back.

"See? She's my nee-san!" He pleaded with Sakuno to understand.

"Niou! Now!" Sanada's voice made it feel like the ground shook beneath their feet.

"Puri. I'll see you tomorrow! Nee-san, don't cause trouble!" He ran after his team and prayed his sister didn't do something he would have to fix later. He could only imagine what she had up her sleeves.

Both Yumiko and Naoko grinned down at the younger girl in front of them. She had been the one Yumiko had seen in the cards, the one that Niou was falling for, and Naoko couldn't wait to find out all she could about her, but as an older sister, she also had to look out for the best interests of her brother, "What are your intentions towards my brother?"

"Eh?" Sakuno felt like she was trapped in a corner and unable to get out. Why did she have to come today?


	13. What Are Your Intentions?

**A/N: I went back and read what I wrote in the last chapter and I shook my head in disappointment. I'm not sure why it happened, but Atobe's speech was completely wrong in several spots. I think I've fixed it now and uploaded the revised chapter onto FF. Sorry about that. Enjoy the new chapter! I promise the next one will be longer.**

 **PS...My Twilight FF Impressions has been nominated for best Garrett/Bella pairing and for the Underfictionated award. If you would like to vote for me, you can at** **www. thenoncanonawards . wordpress . com (remove spaces). Thank you!**

Chapter 13 – What Are Your Intentions?

Sakuno was dumbstruck. She had come with her grandmother so she could cheer on the Seigaku boys' team and to possibly see Niou play for Rikkai Dai, and somewhere between leaving her house and right now, everything had seemed to become twisted and convoluted. First, she had lagged behind and gotten a personal escort from Tezuka while she was searching for the silver haired player. Then the non-regulars for Seigaku surrounded her in a huddle because she had attracted unwanted attention. Then Niou showed up - not to mention the whole debacle with Atobe – and now she was being cornered by Fuji and Niou's older sister… She was starting to feel a little lightheaded. What was the question again?

Backing up a couple of steps, Sakuno's eyes darted from side to side in the hopes that someone would come and rescue her. Anyone, but no one did anything. Not even the members of her former huddle were getting near the three girls. Was it because it was Fuji and Niou's sisters? Fuji did have a reputation for being a sadist – although she wasn't sure why exactly. Yes, he could be scary from time to time, but he was also sweet and she didn't quite understand how he got his reputation. And then there was Niou, who had a reputation for being a prankster. But just because Niou and Fuji had "interesting" extra-curricular activities did not mean their sisters shared them.

That being said, she hated feeling like she was being cornered. For every step she took backwards, the older sisters took one of their own. She couldn't get away from them, and it wasn't only getting away, she couldn't put any distance between them at all! "A-A-Ano?" her breathless voice stammered.

Taking pity on the girl in front of her, Naoko repeated, "What are your intentions towards my brother?"

"Naoko, I think you're scaring her," Yumiko snickered. For every step Sakuno took backwards, she and her kohai took one forward, and someone would have been blind not to see the reaction the younger girl had to their close proximity - or it could have been the line of questioning. Her skin took on an almost chalky pallor and the only color her face held were her glowing pink cheeks. Any hotter and they might cause heat stroke or the city to experience a heat wave.

Really, her only intention had been to have a little fun with the girl, but now that her senpai mentioned it, Naoko could see how terrified Sakuno was. Terrified was the only word for it because she looked cagier than a lion at the circus. It was either that or she was a bunny who was looking for an escape. Now that she looked harder, Niou's older sister decided Sakuno was definitely the skittish bunny.

Stopping in her tracks, she placed her hands behind her back and gave the younger girl a genuine smile, "So how did you and Masaharu meet?" Maybe a different line of questioning would help ease the atmosphere around them; and if it didn't, Naoko had a feeling her brother would kill her later. She only wanted to find out some information about this girl with twin braids…the very girl who seemed to catch the eye of Niou Masaharu…and that was something that never happened. Ever. Like on this planet, in this universe, in anything or any capacity.

Her eyes continued to dart from side to side in the hopes she would be able to find an escape route, but no such luck. With her hands wringing her skirt, Sakuno's soft voice answered the question, "He…he uh…ano…Niou-kun helped me when I got lost. He's been teaching me tennis."

Shy and odd. That is how Naoko would describe Sakuno. Her brother was loud, rambunctious, and when he wanted something, he would take hold with both hands and not let go until it was his. This girl though was completely opposite. How had these two kids gotten together? Was this really her? It wasn't that Naoko had a problem with her per se, but didn't her brother need someone by his side with more…gumption?

"Never judge a book by its cover," Yumiko reminded her friend giving Sakuno a kind smile. While she had only met the young girl a handful of times, her brother had talked about the team's cheerleader often enough. While she might seem shy, scatterbrained, and unassuming outwardly, inside lie a strength that when she needed it, was there to her through life's challenges. It wasn't something Sakuno showed often, however, when she did, people always took notice. She knew all about how Echizen had allowed this innocent girl to believe they were dating and in a brief fit of rebellion and hurt, she fled. Well, saying that Echizen allowed her to believe was probably stretching it since he would have to be aware of his actions…and he wasn't. That boy was oblivious to almost anything around him that didn't involve tennis. In his future, he had lots of trophies and some friendships, but he would find he was also lonely.

Yumiko studied the girl for a moment more before she asked, "Do you want to get something to drink?"

"Ano…Obaa-Chan and I brought drinks…you could…eto…if you want…" Sakuno's voice trailed off. She had always been polite and could not find it in herself to go against the grain right now.

"Arigato," Yumiko and Naoko said as they accepted the offered beverages.

How long would it be before she could slip off, runaway, and hide? Sakuno wasn't sure, however, her body was tense and ready to spring, anticipating the moment she could escape.

Naoko was a Niou and as such, she said what she wanted, did what she wanted, loved to pull pranks, and didn't care who was caught in the middle…for the most part, which is why she asked, "So do you normally flirt with a crowd of men when you're dating my brother?" She meant it partly as a joke, but even she had to admit that her words held an edge of truth.

"EH?!" All color drained from Sakuno's face. Not even her cheeks were on fire any longer. "NO! I…I didn't! I don't know…"

"You like your harem, right?"

"EH?! N-N-No! I-I don't know what you m-mean!" Tears sprang to Sakuno's eyes. She didn't know Niou's sister, but the accusations were unfair and making her anxious. In that moment, she wished for nothing more than for Niou to be there, standing by her side, and telling her that everything would be all right. And then it dawned on her that Naoko had said something else, "N-Niou-kun and I aren't d-d-dating!" Uttering those words made her chest feel tight and hallow. She knew she liked him, but that was all she knew at this point.

Yumiko and Naoko shared a knowing looked before they both hummed, "Mhmm."

Their expression told her that they knew something she didn't, or at the very least that they thought they knew something she didn't; and she wasn't sure why, but something told Sakuno that she needed to be afraid…very afraid.

 ** _Elsewhere…_**

Niou pulled his tennis partner to the side, "We need to win as quickly as possible. Puri. Who knows what nee-san is saying to Sakuno!"

Adjusting his glasses, Yagyuu commented, "I hope you're not suggesting that I would keep a match going longer than necessary before getting the win. As for your nee-san, I had a feeling she wasn't your lover. The rest of the team doesn't realize."

A malicious smirk appeared on the silverette's face, "And we'll just keep that little factoid to ourselves for now."

"Of course," the other half of the platinum pair agreed. He couldn't say why - and if he was questioned later, he would deny all knowledge – but in that moment, he almost felt fearful of what was going to happen. He almost felt sorry for the entire planet because when Niou got that look in his eye, it was never a good thing.


	14. Gumption, I Get It Now

**A/N: Poor Sakuno. Getting the third degree from a stranger who just happens to be Niou's sister. This may or may not end well. Enjoy the new chapter!**

Chapter 14 – Gumption, I Get It Now

Would this day never end? Sakuno had been sitting quietly attempting to watch the tennis matches in front of her, however, just knowing that Fuji and Niou's sisters sat on either side of her, put her on guard and she found she was having a hard time concentrating on anything except that. She could understand why Yumiko stuck around since Fuji was playing today, but why was Naoko still here? Her brother's matches were taking place on another court in the park…several courts down. And if she was honest, that is where Sakuno would have preferred to be.

"You said my brother was teaching you how to play tennis? Do you not play? Your obaa-san is the coach for the boy's team here, isn't she?" Naoko nodded towards the Seigaku players' bench.

"H-Hai! I play, but I…eto…I'm not very good," Sakuno replied almost flinching. Since meeting this woman, she could feel the hostile vibes falling off of her in waves, and that just cranked Sakuno's anxiety up a few hundred more notches.

Again, Naoko had to wonder why her brother had chosen this particular girl. Yes, Yumiko had reminded her not to judge a book by its cover, but what could possibly be found on the pages of a girl without a backbone who wore her long hair in twin braids? "You said you aren't dating my brother, and you also seem to have a small harem, which you also claim not to have…so what is the truth?"

Losing all color in her face, the younger girl opened her mouth to talk and nothing came out. In fact, she looked more like a fish out of water.

Fuji could hear Niou's sister questioning Sakuno and shook his head until this latest round of interrogations. With a broad smile on his face, he turned around and gestured towards his sister, "Nee-san, come here." When she was in front of him, his smile widened and he whispered, "Saa. What is she doing with our cheerleader?"

Yumiko wasn't stupid. She could hear the steel in her brother's voice and knew exactly what it meant. Shaking her head, she answered, "Nothing. The cards have said that Sakuno is the perfect match for Niou and Naoko is testing the waters."

"Sakuno is just getting over something. Tell her to back off…or should I?" His blue eyes opened widely

"I'll let her know, however…"

Lifting an eyebrow, he prodded, "However?"

"She is Niou-kun's sister, and even I've heard the rumors about him. Where do you think he got some of it from?" She smiled and returned to her seat, and when she sat down, she interrupted her friend, "Sakuno, your obaa-san has been the coach of the boy's team for a long time. Right?"

"Hai!" The young girl felt less pressure when it was Yumiko trying to question her. "Ano…she even coached Ryoma-kun's otou-san when he was in high school."

Yumiko leveled her gaze on Naoko when she asked, "So would you say the team were more like brothers? Looking out for you as such? That's why they are so protective?"

"Uh...ano…h-hai. I guess that's true."

Naoko knew exactly what her friend was doing and she snickered quietly. Two could play at this game, "So, you have no feelings for any of them? There are rumors that you are dating Tezuka-buchou. Of course, I've also heard that you were dating Fuji-kun."

"EH?!" Sakuno's eyes grew large with her shock and surprise. Shaking her head vigorously, she denied those rumors, "N-N-No! They just look out for me because obaa-chan asked them to." Why had her day turned out like this? First, she attracts unwanted attention when she tries to look for Niou – and honestly, she isn't even sure how that happened. Then Fuji and Niou's sisters show up and want to interrogate her – which is continuing. And now she was being accused of dating two of the regulars on her grandmother's tennis team. She wanted to bury herself in a hole and never come out again. What did it take to become an ostrich?

"Oy! Quiet! It's rude to talk during a tennis match," Ryoma snapped.

Bristling at the stern warning, Naoko narrowed her eyes and retorted, "Then why don't you turn around and shut up, shorty?" She turned to look at Sakuno and noticed how her chin rested on her chest, how her face practically glowed with her embarrassment, and how her hands were fisted in her lap. "Sakuno?" Sure she had been grilling the girl herself, but this was different.

"Why don't we go and get some ice cream, my treat," Yumiko offered and gave the younger girl's arm a slight pull. Knowing the history between Ryoma and Sakuno, it was no wonder his chastisement had done this to her especially after Naoko's interrogation.

It wasn't that she was still pining over Ryoma or that she was still crying over him, but his attitude and the fact he had snapped at them sent her over the edge when she had been teetering on the edge since Naoko's arrival…maybe before that. Allowing herself to be pulled away, she kept her head down and trusted Fuji's sister to lead her to wherever they were going.

"Sakuno?" A voice called out to her in question.

Her body tensing and her irritation growing at hearing that particular voice, Sakuno's head whipped up and around and she stared dumbfounded at her former best friend. This day was just getting better and better. "Tomoka?" The name was whispered and sounded more like a question, but this was the last person she wanted to see. Not after everything that happened between them.

It had been eye opening when everything had been laid bare. Not only was she not dating Ryoma, but Tomoka had cared more about herself, willing to go behind her best friend's back, to steal him away. No, they weren't dating – reality had been harsh with that realization – but it proved that Tomoka didn't care about who she hurt. If she wanted it, she would go for it…it mattered not if it destroyed a great friendship because Tomoka believed that Sakuno was so giving, she would forgive and forget any infractions her best friend may have done. But Sakuno couldn't do it this time. The other girl's true colors had been shown and Sakuno couldn't just sweep it under the rug. Not anymore.

"Sa-Sakuno, I thought we could talk?" Tomoka began hesitantly.

"I'm sorry, but we were just on our way to get ice cream, so we don't have time for you," Yumiko smiled giving the other girl the brush off. Hearing who she was, she wanted to get Sakuno away from her as quickly as possible.

Not to be deterred by people she didn't know, the girl with the pigtails tried again, "I wasn't talking to you. I need to talk to Sakuno."

"Why?"

"That's between us. She's my best friend!" How dare this woman question her! Who was she anyway?

Her grin growing, Yumiko said, "Do you know what the cards say about you? I do. Why don't you leave Sakuno alone, or do I need to tell my brother that you are causing trouble for her?"

"Y-Your brother? Who's that?"

"Fuji Syusuke." It gave Yumiko a great measure of joy to see the color drain from Tomoka's face, because while she may not have a sadistic streak in her like her brother – he was famous for it - it did not mean she didn't enjoy seeing someone get their just deserts when they deserved it…and if anyone did, it was this girl.

"I…I need to talk to Sakuno!" Tomoka would stick to her guns, even if it meant she would be tortured and killed for it later…if the rumors were true.

Before Yumiko could say anything else, Sakuno faced here former friend, "I have nothing to say to you and I don't want to hear whatever you have to say."

Naoko didn't have a clue as to what was going on in front of her, but she had a feeling that this newcomer was bad news the way her friend defended the younger girl. And she would also be the first to admit that she never expected to see the shy girl with braids to stand up for herself. It was a pleasant surprise.

"Even if I say, you were right about Ryoma-sama?"

"I already knew I was. You made your choice, now you have to deal with the consequences."

"That's it?"

"I don't need friends who will go behind my back and try to tear me down. I need friends who will actually be my friend!"

"Oh and these two will be?"

Shrugging, Sakuno snapped, "I don't really know them. They are just being nice because we were all watching the tennis matches together."

"So you think the team will be your friends? That someone from Rikkai Dai will treat you better than Ryoma-sama?"

There had been a time when Sakuno would forgive Tomoka almost anything, however, things change. After giving and giving without hardly receiving anything in return, she had nothing left to give to her former friend. Maybe one day in the future they could start again, but today was not that day. Everything was still too fresh and raw, the memory still too new. "The team has always been there for me when I needed them the most, and as for Niou-kun, he already does treat me better. He would never hurt me on purpose, not that Ryoma-kun's was on purpose, but Niou-kun would never take advantage of someone like that."

Naoko could not contain her giggle. Sakuno apparently did not know the real Niou Masaharu, or if she did, she ignored the trickster part and viewed him through rose colored glasses.

Ignoring the silverette's sister, Sakuno continued, "I also know that Niou-kun would not wait for me to fail, only to go behind my back, try to take what I thought was mine, and then parade my failures for everyone to see because he isn't like you."

She should have expected it after the last run-in she'd had with Sakuno, but Tomoka thought if she tried to apologize again, if she admitted she was wrong and her old friend was right, then she would have her best friend back. How could she have been so wrong? She wanted her friend back, why couldn't it be like every time before? Sakuno was the forgiving one, the one who liked everyone, the one who was soft spoken, shy, and friendly. What had changed? Tomoka had to wonder if she would ever find a way to get her friend back. Had what she done been so bad? "I'm…I'm sorry."

"I know, but that won't fix everything this time," Sakuno wanted to cave, and yet, she knew if she did, nothing would change. She had to stand up for herself, to stand on her own two feet. And if that meant cutting ties with Tomoka, then so be it.

"That's it?"

"Hai," Sakuno's voice was a little quieter with a hint of timidity, but she held firm.

Again. She had lost again. Now, she had no Sakuno and no Ryoma. Why had this happened to her? Fighting her tears, Tomoka ran away and out of the park.

Smiling, Naoko nodded and said, "I get it now. Niou chose well."

"I told you so," Yumiko winked at her friend. "How about that ice cream?"

"Nee-san! What did you do?" Niou ran over out of breath.

All three girls looked at him from the tip of his silver hair to the bottom of his feet. He looked as if he had just finished playing, but surely that couldn't be right, could it?

"N-Niou-kun? Don't you have a match?" Sakuno asked.

"Done! And I won! Puri!"

Glaring at her brother, Naoko announced, "I didn't do anything. We were just on our way to get some ice cream when some pig tailed prissy stopped us!"

"She was here? Are you okay? Puri," he asked the person that mattered the most to him, and it wasn't his sister.

Sakuno nodded, her face pink, "Hai.'

"Niou-kun! Hurry back before Sanada torundorous the whole team!" Yagyuu yelled.

A twinkle appeared in his eye as he replied, "I'm coming." Turning to Sakuno, he grinned, "I'll pick you up tomorrow morning for our lesson."

Once again her face started to turn red, but a smile pulled at her lips and she said, "H-Hai!" She couldn't wait until her tennis lesson.


End file.
